What Really Counts - The D/R Version.
by Clarenova
Summary: After much bashing, screaming and whacking, I agreed. Here it is, for all of you who prodded, poked and annoyed me for: WRC, D/R. Not much was edited in the first few chapters, but I hope you'll see a difference. I took care in changing details, so enjoy!
1. Lost

Captain Daleria and the rest of Major Clandestine's patrol were in the spacious forge room with the Lady Consellariel. She was filling them in on a mission they were about to go out on, to Redwall Abbey. 

'Fine, fine, I know the last time I sent you to Redwall it didn't really go as planned, but this time, its really quite simple. There seem to be a very small vermin band, about a score of them, hanging around the area. Its your job to get rid of them. Get that?' 

There was a chorus of 'yes marm's coming from the 10 hare patrol, Vale and Galedeep had been replaced by Fleetpaw and Stargaze. 

'Fine. All but Captain Daleria and Major Clandestine are dismissed.' 

Curiously looking at one another, the major and the captain stayed behind as the rest of the patrol smartly saluted and shuffled out of the forge. They had been close friends ever since the end of the escapade with Vaxial and his vermin scum. They were constantly seen together, and when they fought together as a team, they were nearly unstoppable. Daleria often sacrificed going out alone to fight openly with her fencing sabre, as much as she favoured the freedom of fighting soley, the captain restrained herself enough to cover the major's back as much as Clandestine covered hers as well. To be truthful, Clandestine and Daleria fought as if there were no difference between openly fighting or covering each other. Most of the time, all their opponents saw was a swipe of a rapier of a sabre before sweet blackness took over. They worked near seamlessly together. They shrugged and resumed the at attention stance. 

The badger lady sighed and turned slowly around. 

'At ease, both of you.' 

Sitting down on a ledge next to the window, and looked out. Her eyes glazed over as a faraway look entered her brown eyes. Sighing, she continued to talk. 

'I felt it best to keep this from you until now, when I feel you will be able to take it the best.' 

Immediately, Daleria's eyebrows shot up. 

'Marm?' 

Consellariel stood up, and gently placed her paws onto both the major and the captain's necks. She withdrew a small silver necklace from under their tunics. The major gasped aloud. 

'But marm! How did you know? Why does Daleria have one? What's going on?' 

Both the necklaces were silver, and an exact half of a dark blue sapphire encased in both. The major never knew how it she had got it; it had always been there. Daleria, on the other hand, knew exactly where she had got it, and what it meant. Softly, she gushed. 

'Marm… Surely not? They were all there with me! I saw it, before my own eyes, every single one!' 

The major was starting to lose track of things. 

'Who was where? What is this? Marm!' 

The badger lady sighed. 

'Clandestine, as a babe, you were sent to Salamandastron, to be reared up without any knowledge of your past. It is not like you thought; your parents never were Salamandastron hares. The hare who sent you here was Daleria's mother. Your mother. Daleria is your sister.' 

It hit Clandestine like a massive boulder crashing down. Staring at Daleria, staring back at Consellariel, then shifting her gaze back to Daleria, she said, 

'What?' 

'You heard me well enough, major.' 

'She?' 

'Yes she is.' 

Daleria was equally as shocked, but seemed to be taking the news in her stride. With all that happened in the past few seasons, nothing really surprised her any more. However, Daleria was stilled badly affected by it, blinking in astonishment at the badger lady. Seeing the two shocked faces, Consellariel waved her paw and dismissed them. 

'Dismissed, both of you. Major, take your patrol out in two days. That will be all.' 

Saluting as smartly as the situation would allow, the two walked out of the forge and into Daleria's dormitory room, which was nearest. They were both silent, contemplating was had just gone on, trying to figure out what was going on in a rational manner. 

Daleria fingered her necklace, gazing at the dark blue sapphire intently. 

'Well I guess that this isn't the only thing I've got left anymore…' 

The major nodded, agreeing. 

'I suppose that this is an interesting turn of events, wot?' 

'I guess so… I don't really know what to say… Somehow or another, I think that I was expecting this…' 

The major turned to the passive captain, raising an eyebrow questioningly. 

'Expecting this?' 

Nodding silently, she went on. 

'I don't know… There just seemed to be some kind of… Feeling. It is something I cannot explain…' 

'Right.' 

Nodding her head, the major got up, walking down to the mess hall, happy, and still rather shell shocked by the news. 

By the time they had managed to actually get to the mess hall and sit down, nearly a half hour had passed since the rest of the patrol was dismissed. Everybeast was curious. Sergeant Longrunn was now a very close friend of Daleria now, after the many times he had to stop her from running off after Vaxial. 

'What happened?' 

After all had been explained, the rest of the patrol was gaping. The lieutenant was stunned. 

'You're her bally sister? Are you joking wot?' 

'Not at all.' 

'Well this is jolly strange wot' 

The major got back to business, even through the emotional chaos. 

'You few better get ready for the patrol, wot. We're moving out in two days.' 

They finished up they're food and went back up to their dormitories to prepare for the trip ahead. A trip near to Redwall was always a taxing time, seeing that the peaceful creatures depended heavily on them for protection. It was no happy field trip by far. 

On the way up to her dormitory, Daleria bumped into the Colonel. Since old Colonel Galde had died, the captain Rapieratce had taken over. Coming to attention, she saluted the officer. He smiled. 

'I've head the good news, Captain, congratulations.' 

'Thank you sah!' 

'Very well, stand easy young un.' 

With that, he went back down to the mess hall. Daleria completed her day with an immense feeling of joy in her heart. She had never felt this happy for seasons! 

************** 

Two Days On 

************** 

Major Clandestine's patrol padded silently through Mossflower woods in the dead of the night. Sergeant Longrunn had spotted the vermin; they appeared to be all foxes. 

The Major in the lead, they stalked the foxes quietly, watching their every move and step. The major suddenly stopped and held up 3 fingers. Putting one down, everybeast in her patrol withdrew their blades, putting down one more, they got ready to charge, putting the final finger down, they charged, calling out the time honoured war cry of Salamandastron hares. 

'EULALIA! TIS DEATH ON THE WIND!' 

These foxes, however, seemed to be sword foxes. Deadly sword foxes. Daleria grinned. Swordplay was one of her stronger points. It was not the major's, however. Daleria could see that her sister was having immense difficulty with the experienced swordfoxes. 

After taking out another fox with a vicious swipe of her blade, Daleria made her way to Major Clandestine. But it was far too late. The major went down by a stab through her heart. An immediate sick feeling swept over Daleria. Even in the heat of battle she stopped. But only for a moment. The feeling was immediately replaced with that of great outrage. She fought like she had never fought before, swiping, stabbing and slashing. The remaining six swordfoxes fled. Daleria dropped to the major's side. She was clearly dead. Once again, Daleria felt the feeling of loneliness come upon her. And she wept. Why did fate take away everything dear to her? Was it impossible, for once, just once, to have something that she could hold on to? 

The sergeant and the rest of the patrol came over. The sergeant put a paw on her shoulder and tried to get her to stop 

'Daleria…' 

Not a word came from her. Instead, his paw was roughly pushed away, and the look she gave him was more venomous than any he had ever received. Longrunn slowly backed away. 

No matter how hard they tried, none of the patrol could get the grief stricken Daleria away from Clandestine's side, nor could they get her to utter a single word. It was getting to be too much for the young hare. All her family, her whole family, had been murdered in cold blood before her own eyes, relentlessly torn away from her, and there was nothing she could do anymore. 

So they had given up for the moment, and cleared away the dead foxes. Every otherbeast was fine, so they set up a fire and decided to pitch camp for the remainder of the night. 

Fleetpaw whispered to the sergeant. 

'I say sah, wots wrong with old Daleria?' 

'She had a bally sad childhood. Family murdered in front of her by that flippin scum Vaxial. The major was all she had, until now. She's lost it all over again.' 

'Is she ever going to stop weeping?' 

'I don't know, Fleetpaw, I don't know.' 

After a further week of travelling, they had made the trip back to Salamandastron. 

During that whole time, Daleria hadn't spoken a single word. Her eyes were like stone, and her face like a blank sheet. She had laid her sister to death, facing Salamandastron, and the rest of the patrol had to literally peel her away from the place. How they had managed to do so was quite incredible. Daleria was no longer the cheerful and helpful hare she once was. She was now quick to lose her temper, and very fierce and unpredictable. No one liked to be around her when she flared up. 

On her way up to the forge room to report, every hare she passed stopped in their tracks. They could not believe what Daleria had become in the short pace of two weeks. And where was Major Clandestine? 

Knocking at the forge door, she entered. Her expression was as blank as it ever was, and the minute Lady Consellariel saw her face, she knew something was wrong. 

'What happened?' 

No answer. Daleria's face was as hard as stone, but at the same time, tears streamed down her face, soaking her fur and dropping to the forge floor. Weakly, the badger lady asked, 

'Major Clandestine.?' 

All Daleria could do was nod. She could not bring herself to do anything else. 

'At ease.' 

Taking up the at ease potion, Daleria tried to stop the flow of tears, but failed miserably. 

'What happened? The vermin?' 

Daleria nodded again, not a word escaping her lips. Consellariel shook her head sadly at her. 

'Daleria, I don't want to sound disrespectful, but truly. You will have to get over this. What has happened, happened, and you have friends around you that are willing to help you through this.' 

By then Daleria was shaking violently. Consellariel was seriously concerned. 

'Sit down. I'll get Taremin.' 

As the badger lady walked out of the room, Daleria stumbled over to a chair and literally collapsed into it. What had happened was almost too much for her to bear. A single thought about Clandestine sent her breaking down. The world had crashed onto her shoulders, and words had little meaning to her any more. 

Lady Consellariel had returned with Taremin, the mountain's best medic, at her side. The hare set to work examining Daleria, who didn't move nor say a word. Finally, she finished. 

'What's wrong with her?' 

Sighing, the hare medic straightened up, looking grave. 

'That's the problem marm. I don't know. I simply think it's grief.' 

'I hoped it wouldn't be. Very well Taremin, dismissed.' 

Sighing deeply, the badger lady turned her attention to Daleria. 

'Daleria, just because you aren't talking, I realize that you can still work well enough. I am still putting you on your normal drills and sentries. I seriously hope you snap out of this. I don't want to pressurize you after your sister's death, but I want you to realize that life must go on. Don't think that I don't care about the major's death; I just want you to stop grieving. Clandestine's memory will live on in your heart forever, that you must remember. Dismissed.' 

Still shivering, Daleria gave a shaky salute and stumbled out of the forge on weak paws. Dashing into her dormitory, she collapsed onto her bed. Slowly, she took off the silver necklace that hung around her neck. That was all she had now. She shuddered violently. Why? That question echoed through her head again and again and again. 

Why?   


_'Well I guess this isn't the only thing I've got left anymore.'_   


How wrong was she. Her head hadn't stopped pounding, her heart hadn't stopped aching. Her world was upside down, and she was totally at lost. She knew she had to pick up the pieces and move on, but where were the pieces? How would she glue her life back together again? No one was there to help her. Clandestine had been her best friend ever since she had stepped into Salamandastron so many seasons ago, looking for revenge over Vaxial. Life was spinning round so fast, and she could not keep up. Lying back down, she remembered that she had to go back down into the mess hall for dinner. Life was getting worse by the day. 

She did every thing without saying a single word, not a mutter escaped her lips. They had lost all meaning to her, and near everything had turned monotonous in her opinion. What were the use of sounds that meant nothing? 

Getting up from her bed, she reluctantly made her move towards the mess hall. Food was the last thing on her mind. She moved her way through the mass of hares and seated herself down in the midst of the rest of the late Major Clandestine's patrol. Now that her sister was gone, she should have taken on the leading role, as she was the next highest-ranking hare in the patrol. She knew than the Lady would insist on her taking the position, so she had little choice. She pushed the food around her plate, and only the concerned looks from Sergeant Longrunn and the rest of the patrol forced her to eat. She felt so bad, she didn't know if her stomach would accept the food. She couldn't even eat half of the contents of her plate, which contained wild rice and some vegetables. Usually she loved that dish, but the food turned into bitter sand in her mouth, gritty and uneven. 

She ended up giving up and retreating to her dormitory until the drill practices later that day. 

It was sword drilling that day. It was usually her favourite practice, and everybeast knew she went easy with them, as she could easily disarm any one of them in no time at all. She got paired up with a veteran called Greamal. Daleria fought like a madbeast. Even though Greamal was a fairly good sabre fighter, he was no match to the young hare. She practically battered his sabre to and fro, letting out her pent up frustrations. Again not saying a word. She slashed against his blade in a skilful left diagonal swipe and that sent tremors through his paw. Daleria did a quadruple slash-stab at him. Hitting at the left edge of his blade, and in a blur of silver, hit right, then she countered back with a left again, then with another right, which sent the blade flying towards an unwary Stargaze. Her sabre shot out again, catching Greamal's blade in the air and swinging it in a swipe towards Greamal himself. Too shocked to do anything, the veteran stared at the blade coming at him, and suddenly, a paw shot out and grabbed the blade by its hilt. It was Daleria. Throwing the sabre back at the veteran, she looked at him with a look in her eye that told him to pick up the blade and try again. But before he could even bend down, the Colonel was upon Daleria. Rapieratce looked very, very, _extremely_ angry. Taking the sabre from Daleria, he fought to control his voice and temper. 

'What on earth did you think you were doing wot? Really, you jolly well know that you could easily take the old chap out! This is bally unthinkable. Please! Don't vent your anger on the bally hare!' 

The fire in her eyes slowly burned out and vanished. Sighing softly and sadly, Daleria saluted the Colonel and sheathed her sabre. Satisfied that she had been suppressed properly, Rapieratce calmed down himself. 

'Fine then. Captain, dismissed until your next drill.' 

As she walked away, Daleria was feeling really, really, low and immensely foolish. She could not bring herself to believe that she had just done what she did to poor Greamal. His paws must still be shaking from the impact. But what was she to do? 

So far the rest of the day had gone by quite finely. Daleria had managed to control herself for the rest of the drills, and not fight like a crazed madbeast trying to kill anybeast in her path. Though she was slightly tired after the many rather taxing drills, she still couldn't bring herself to eat more than three bites of food. 

Every hare she had passed had patted her on the back and muttered words of sympathy. Major Clandestine had been greatly liked, by both the officers and the recruits. She was always cheerful and helpful, yet totally perilous in her own way. Nothing helped. 


	2. Changed

The major's patrol was trying desperately to get Daleria to talk, eat, or even better, be normal. True, everybeast was saddened by the major's death, but the young hare captain looked and acted like the world had come crashing down on her shoulders. Ever since that day a week or so ago, she grew paler and looked weaker by the day. She did not eat, would not talk, and did not heed their advice. She only took orders from all the higher ranking hares and Lady Consellariel herself. Daleria always seemed so distant, and a faraway look often glazed her eyes over. She was so drained, it was frightening. 

Daleria herself on the other hand, did not care in the slightest. Every word spoken to her about her sister felt like somebeast had stabbing her in the back then twisting the hilt. It was driving her crazy. Everywhere in her head, her emotions swirled around and around, sending her life spinning around in a never-ending spiral of black and white that moved at a furious pace, and that revolved in her head, dizzying her. 

Night had finally fallen, and it brought peace to both Salamandastron and Daleria's spinning mind. Creeping silently out of her dormitory, she paced towards a small balcony like ledge facing the sea, where she liked to sit and think. She knew that if she was found, she would be heavily punished, but to herself, she had nothing to lose, so who cares? She was so immersed in her own thoughts; she hardly noticed that she had bumped into somebeast. When she looked up, she got the shock of her life. 

Colonel Rapieratce? 

That thought flashed through her head. 

The colonel was equally shocked. He knew that neither Daleria nor himself was supposed to be there. 

'Daleria? What on Mossflower are you doing here? You are not the flippin sentry for tonight!' 

The look Daleria shot him clearly meant 'neither are you'. Sighing, she gazed out, standing on the ledge and letting the night wind play with her fur. As she looked along the shore and sea, which was coated with a glinting silver finish of white moonlight, she let out a soft sigh and sat down on the moss strewn ledge. She gathered her legs up and placed her chin on her knees. She saw her entire life flash through the night scene, and silent tears started to flow down, dampening her fur, reflecting the white moonlight. The colonel sat down next to her in resignation, knowing that neither of them was going anywhere. He put a comforting paw across her shoulders and asked. 

'What's wrong, old gel? I'm here to talk to, y'know.' 

To his total and unexpected surprise, Daleria actually replied. 

'I'm just so confused! Everything seems to be crashing down on my shoulders, and everything I hold dear is slipping through my paws! Why!?' 

Though Rapieratce was stunned, he regained enough composure to reply. 

'That's how the world works, me gel. Nobeast knows why flippin old fate does these bally things to us, but one blinkin way or another, we'll pull through.' 

Daleria stopped the flow of tears from running down her face. 

'Lady Consellariel will batter me into dust when she finds out I sneaked out tonight.' 

The colonel smiled gently at her. 

'_If_ she finds out, m'gel.' 

Daleria was stunned. Colonel Rapieratce had always been an uptight hare when it came to rules and regulations. 

'You're not going to report me?' 

'How could I old gel? You were a confused hare simply lookin' for a bally quiet place to think. No chap with a right mind would report ye.' 

Smiling softly, Daleria got up slowly. 

'Thank you greatly, sah. That really meant a lot to me.' 

The colonel got up. 

'Now off you go, me gel, get some sleep. A chap would think you bally well needed it.' 

*********** 

Daleria got up, and for the first time in two weeks, felt refreshed and good to be alive. The black rings under her eyes had disappeared, and she felt surprisingly light hearted. 

Stretching slightly, she put on her tunic and went down to the mess hall for breakfast. As she entered, everybeast looked up, gaping. None of them had seen Daleria look so refreshed for a long time, and the Major's patrol looked at her with relief. The old Daleria had finally returned! 

'What are all of you looking at?' 

There was a miniature explosion at the sound of Daleria talking. A stream of talk hit her like a tidal wave. 

'Daleria! You're talking!' 

'Captain Daleria! You!' 

'Daleria! What got you talking again?' 

At this time, Lady Consellariel entered. An immediate silence fell. She gave Daleria a wide smile. 

'That's good, keep your mind off the Major.' 

Daleria was quickly ushered over to her patrol's table, where she started eating, the warm and filling food felt good after the two weeks of near starvation. Eating slowly, she considered everything that had happened, and everything that might happen. Inside, she knew that Clandestine, both as her sister and as a higher ranking officer, would not want her moping around and crying her eyes out. 

The real Daleria was back, and she was back for good. She would get rid of the vermin who had done this, put her oath to rest, whether or not it took her everything she had. Vaxial had been the first, and now which ever beast had done and commanded this would go down next. Daleria had nothing more to loose. She would give everything to pay for the things she had lost. 

Even her life. It all came down to finishing off what she herself had started off. Those responsible would pay, not only for Clandestine, but for every other beast that had been affected by these troubled times. 

Lieutenant Dallaw and Sergeant Longrunn were talking amongst themselves while watching a training Daleria. 

'Look at that bally hare! If neither Rapieratce or Lady Consellariel comes right now and peel her off that sabre of hers, she's going to wear the flippin drilling ground down to dust! 

'Too true.' 

'I say old chap, here comes the lady herself!' 

They watched as the badger lady ambled up to the training hare, who had her back towards Consellariel. The badger lady placed a large paw onto Daleria's shoulder. Before she could say a word, the hare captain moved so quickly she was a blur. Whipping her body over to the right, she did a lightning fast turn that sent her sabre, back strap, sheath and all flying off her back where it had been loosely hung. Swiftly catching the hardy reed woven sheath in her left paw, she brought it up to neck level, placed her right paw on the hilt and withdrew half of the blade at an angle that reflected the noontide sun straight into Consellariel's eyes. 

All this was done in a matter of seconds, and when Daleria finally looked up, she got the shock of her life. Looking up into the badger lady's stunned eyes, which were squinting at the bright light, the hare captain quickly shoved the sabre back into its sheath and hurriedly slung it back over her shoulder and buckled it back on. Coming smartly to attention, she saluted Consellariel and rapped out an apology. 

'Beg yeh pardon marm! Didn't know it was ye who was behind me marm!' 

Chuckling ever so slightly, Consellariel blinked a few times and regained her composure. 

'At ease, captain.' 

Daleria hastily took up the at ease position as the badger lady started to talk. 

'I know, Daleria that you want to train hard, should come a day when the vermin responsible for your sisters death come across our shores, but this is too much. You have been here since dawn for the past few days, and have barely eaten a bit of food.' 

'But marm, I don't feel the least bit tired or hungry.' 

'Daleria, you've told both Rapieratce and me those very words for the past few days, so I will tell you again, get rest and some food.' 

'But…!' 

'Get in and get food, and that is an order. Dismissed.' 

Just as Daleria started to trudge back into the mountain, she heard some muffled chuckling coming from some nearby shrubbery. Whipping around instinctively, she sighted the two unfortunate hare officers. 

'Longrunn! Dallaw! I'm going to-- !' 

Hearing their commanding officer's voice sent shockwaves through them. Their ears shot straight up in panic, and they turned tail and fled, sending sand flying everywhere. Daleria followed at an equally fast speed, driven by comical rage. 

'You two come back here and Ill make you march ten leagues before nightfall! You fiends!' 

The irrepressible Lieutenant Dallaw shouted back at her. 

'Tut tut, watch yore language marm!' 

An outraged yell and the patter of footpaws followed that remark as they entered the mountain. Daleria smiled evilly. She was not a Long Patrol hare captain for nothing. Putting on a burst of speed, she cornered the two misfit hares against a wall, and with a swift, single movement of her body, Longrunn and Dallaw were pressed against the wall, with an angry captain Daleria breathing down their necks. 

Still breathing heavily, Daleria waved a paw under both of the offenders' noses. 

'If I catch you two one more time, the next time we go on patrol, I'll set both of you on double guard duty and march your paws until they frazzle up and drop off, you two get that?' 

She stopped leaning over them and started to make her way to the Mess Hall. Under his breath, Dallaw muttered, 

'No I don't missie don't-eat-at-all.' 

Daleria's acutely sharp hearing caught every word that was said. Doubling back with a quick twist, she pinned Dallaw against the wall with both paws, quicker than he could blink. With a dangerously causal smile on her face, she asked, 

'Did I hear you mutter something, lieutenant?' 

Swallowing hard, the lieutenant shook his head frantically. 

'No marm, nothing at all marm!' 

Smiling that same disarming smile of hers, Daleria released Dallaw. 

'Really? I thought I heard a request for double sentry duty tonight. You should have just asked, I could have easily got the colonel to agree.' 

Then she walked off, still smiling. 

Longrunn prodded the naughty lieutenant. 

'Do that again, old chap, and you'll be running around the bally mountain with the captain and her flippin great fencing sabre chasing you.' 

'Then I'll take me own flippin sabre with me.' 

'That's bally well useless, old boy. Remember way back when she was but a flippin recruit? Beat me at it, just flipped me blinkin sabre into the air. Didn't last a flippin second.' 

The younger lieutenant started to laugh, 

'Ho yes I did, jolly well hilarious!' 

'Why you liddle ----!' 

The sergeant started to chase Dallaw, and both ended up crashing into Lady Consellariel, literally. 

'Eep! Marm! Apologies, we- he- I-!' 

Sighing, the badger lady said, 

'Both of you, get to the Mess Hall before I decide to throw you there. I have got a long day ahead of me.' 

Saluting, the two officers scurried away wordlessly. 

Longrunn couldn't believe he had done what he had just done. Usually the strict and organized hare, he never did mad things that were against the rules and got him into trouble. Still in his own daydream, he automatically made his way slowly towards the Mess Hall where he sat down next to Daleria. He snapped out of his dream world as he watched Daleria. The hare captain was absently pushing the food around on her plate, letting it grow cold. 

'What's wrong old gel? You look jolly pale.' 

Daleria put down her hand carved wood fork, sighing deeply. She started to converse with the older sergeant. 

'I don't know sergeant. Ever since Clandestine's death, I've had this feeling of unrest, though I don't know why. I can't help but think that trouble is brewing, though it may not be large, I think it will be lethal.' 

The sergeant nodded slowly, with a thoughtful look on his face, ears slightly drooping. 

'Well old gel, cross the bridge when you come to it, so I guess that we jolly well have to wait and see, wot!' 

'I guess you're right…' 

Reluctantly, Daleria forced the food down, though every bite only made it taste worse. Clearing her plate, she moved off towards her dormitory. 

Hooking her sabre's sheath onto the wall peg above her bed, she progressed to take a cloth from her trunk and started to polish the keen silver blade. After finishing that, she sheathed it and then took out a small wood carving knife. Reaching for her sturdy yet lightweight oak quarterstaff, she cut and smoothed out some of the hard and bumpy lumps that made handling it difficult and rough that she had missed the last time she had repaired her weapons. Then she looked at its base. On it was carved the name "Daleria". There was a blank space next to that. She never knew her surname, the incident where her parents and kin died having taken place only just after her dibbunhood. War made her grow and mature too fast. She took quite a few long seasons to learn the ways of surviving in Mossflower. Ten seasons had passed, and only then did she stumble across Redwall Abbey and find her way over to Salamandastron. 

That was all a good seven seasons ago, and if she had ever known her surname, the shadows of pain and terror had long blocked it out to make way for more important or more painful memories and skills. Daleria could barely remember what her own family was like, where they lived and what they did. Now that the age of Vaxial was past, she longed to know more about her own past. 

What was her family like? 

Who were her friends? 

What was her surname? 

Where is, or was, her home? 

The clouded figures, images and sounds filling her memory did not help. Every time she tired to remember, to sharpen the images, it all blurred and refused to give way. Daleria did not know what she could do, if she even could do anything to help herself in the first place. 

Daleria absentmindedly fingered her necklace. She took it off as a single tear ran down her face. Looking at the sapphire, she saw the word "Daleria". 

Wait. Was there something beside it? Yes! 

Perking up considerably, Daleria held it up to the light. 

"Windbind" 

So that was her full name. Daleria Windbind. Her sister never knew. Clandestine would never find out who she really was. It was too late. Clandestine had gone down, barely even knowing her own sister, not knowing who her parents were, what her full name was, not even her own history. How Daleria wished that patrol never happened. It could all have been different. Everything could have changed. Clandestine would still have been alive. But it was too late. The bell that signalled quarterstaff practice woke Daleria from her own reverie. 

Grabbing her oaken staff that rested next to her sabre, she set off to find Lady Consellariel first to inform her about her findings. 

She knocked on the forge door. No answer. She knocked again. Still no response. She got worried. Pushing the forge door open, she rushed in, When she found the badger lady, she saw Consellariel's face was deathly white, her eyes slightly misted and faraway. Consellariel suddenly fell to the forge floor, twitching unnaturally. Daleria stood, shocked and disbelieving, at the doorway. Her mind had frozen, and the captain did not seem to want, or could, register the fact of what had happened before her. Only one, single word that flashed through her head. 

Poison. 

The minute Daleria saw, she knew. The quarterstaff in her paw clattered noisily to the ground as it fell from her nerveless paws. But the hare captain was not there to hear the noise. Daleria had already raced away from the scene. Running haphazardly down the staircase, she streaked across the grounds as she dashed hurriedly down onto the training ground itself to find Colonel Rapieratce. She eventually found him standing at the head of all the officers. 

'Colonel sah! Lady Consellariel seems to have been poisoned sah! We need Taremin!' 

Rapieratce sprang straight into action. Dropping his staff, the two hares set off to find Taremin. After grabbing the necessary things, the three dashed up into the forge. 

Lady Consellariel had gone still. Anybeast could tell she was still breathing, but very shallowly and in short breaths. Daleria dropped down to her knees. 

'No! Not you marm! Anybeast but you!' 

The colonel pulled her away gently. 

'There's nothing you can do, old gel. Let Taremin do her job.' 

'Why me? Why everybeast I love and admire? Why?' 

'I don't know, old gel,' 

The colonel's jaw was clenched tight, green eyes blazing. 

'but we're jolly well going to find out.' 

* 

The world was spinning crazily around and Consellariel felt extremely dizzy. The dark and foggy shapes around her slowly began to come into a blurred focus as she shook her aching head, looking around her. Her head was pounding, but at least she was alive. Consellariel groggily got up, and saw the bent figure of a hare sitting in the moonlight streaming forth from the forge window. Taking a wild guess, she raised her voice, though it came out shaky because of her parched throat. 

'Captain...?' 

Daleria's head shot straight up, her ears slightly tipped. The captain proceeded to hurriedly rub sleep from her tired eyes with her paws. Consellariel could see from the black rings under her eyes that sleep had eluded her for a quite long time, and the black streaks running down her face clearly indicated tears. Her face was deathly pale, her fur in messy disarray. That did not conceal the happiness and outright relief that showed in her voice when she spoke aloud. 

'Marm? You're awake! Thank goodness! I thought you were...' 

There was an uncomfortable silence. Nobeast wanted to elaborate on that matter. Fortunately, Consellariel soon broke the awkward with a question. 

'How long was I unconscious?' 

'Tonight is the third night marm.' 

'Three whole days? What happened?' 

'The...,' 

Here Daleria faltered, and her jaw tightened. There was pain showing in her black eyes. 

'Corrin Flower poison. Alike to the one that was used to...' 

Daleria shut her eyes tightly to stop the flow of tears. When they opened, Consellariel saw the same flames of vengeance that burned long ago when Vaxial was still alive in them. 

'This is the work of foxes. This is the kin of Waleb the White. I have seen her kin once. She had a raven furred brother, who was very dear to his sister. His name is Seppak the Black, cruel and merciless. He was a captain of Vaxial's horde and one of the few who escaped. Luckily you did not drink too much of your water, it was spiked with the poison. If you had...' 

There was another one of those unbreakable silences that only Consellariel could possibly break. 

'Then why is he targeting me?' 

'Because, marm, he wants to ruin my life bit by bit, then sooner or later, he will kill me. He will eradicate all those close to me and torment me with old memories and new foes. If that is what he is trying to do. Mayhap I should leave Salamandastron.' 

'No. That is what this Seppak thing wants. You stay here.' 

The hare captain looked straight at Consellariel. 

'But I will hurt everybeast here! Look at what happened to you marm!' 

But the badger lady was firm. Her voice grew hard and commanding. 

'You stay Captain Daleria. You belong in Salamandastron and may not leave it without my consent. And you do not have it.' 

Daleria sank back in her seat resignedly. She knew nobeast could change her badger lady's mind, and she had no right to challenge her orders at any rate. 

'Then I shall stay.' 

Consellariel settled back down into her pillow. 

'Good, now get some sleep. You don't look too well. Good night.' 

Rising wearily, Daleria saluted the badger lady. 

'Good night marm.' 


	3. Leaving

Daleria silently closed the forge door. As she moved towards her dormitory, she knew what she must do, although it would grieve her greatly to disobey the badger lady's orders, it was for everybeast's good. For her friends, comrades and officers alike. She pushed open her dormitory door and strode in. 

From her trunk she withdrew a small, brown and lightweight pouch that one could sling over one's neck. Inside was all she needed to survive in the wild. A small and handy dagger, a few strips of cloth, some medicinal herbs, a length of rope among others. She slung it over her neck, letting it drop next to her side. Turning towards the wall, she took her sabre from the wall peg. Buckling it on, she touched the hilt gently for reassurance. Finally, she took up her oak quarterstaff. 

Silently padding down the corridors and halls, she stepped out of the main entrance. Turning, she gave one final salute to Salamandastron, and then took off into the night. 

The Next Morning 

Daleria awoke near the fringe of Mossflower. After marching at a steady pace through much of the night, she had lain down and slept a very, very deep sleep. 

Her paws were tightly bound, her pouch, sabre and staff missing. In front of her was a tall and lithe female ferret who had a sly, cruel look upon her. 

'Well lookie here, yon rabbit has woken up.' 

Staring at the lone vermin, Daleria snarled, 

'Its hare, you scum. What do you want with me?' 

An evil smile spread across the ferret's face. 

'You. I have been specially, how would I put it, _employed_ to attain a certain hare who seems to be you.' 

*** 

Lady Consellariel entered the Mess Hall and sat at the head of the table. Seeing the badger lady arrive, Colonel Rapieratce got up stiffly and walked over to her. By the look on his face alone, Consellariel could tell something was terribly wrong. 

'What is it, Colonel?' 

'Lady Consellariel, Captain Daleria is missing from the mountain.' 

Upon hearing this, Consellariel slammed her beaker onto the wooden table with such force that the other end of it shook and vibrated. 

'I knew it! That tomfool of a captain has gone and literally sacrificed herself for her friends. I should have ordered a sentry at her door last night. Colonel, get a search party out. Now!' 

Saluting, Rapieratce rapped out orders. 

'Longrunn, Dallaw, Fitirel, Stargaze, form a search party and track her down. I will go with you.' 

*** 

'What does your _employer_ want from me?' 

The answer was almost idle, as if the ferret had all the time in the world to answer her. 

'The fox said something about wanting you alive for vengeance of some sort. He offered a high price for you, so I accepted.' 

Daleria spat back a vicious reply. 

'I would rather die than go with you, ferret!' 

'That works quite all right with me.' 

With surprising speed, the ferret grabbed a bow and let fly a black tipped arrow. 

Only quick reflexes and seasons of training saved Daleria. Rolling away, she avoided the arrow striking her heart. The arrow did, however, enter her left shoulder. Wincing at the searing pain and trying not to cry out, she rolled upright. 

'Give me back my sabre and I'll fight you blade to blade, ferret!' 

The ferret toyed with Daleria's sabre. 

'As you wish, and the name is Renalia, not ferret.' 

With that, she shed the reed sheath and started whipping Daleria mercilessly with the flat of her own sabre, raining blows here and there. All Daleria could do was wriggled helplessly as the blade flayed her. 

Suddenly, a cry rang out. 

'Eulalia!!' 

Colonel Rapieratce and the rest of the search party came crashing in. With a swift kick of his footpaw and a flash of his sabre, Renalia fell dead to the ground. A further two strokes of the blade cut away Daleria's bonds. He helped her into an upright sitting position. Red, black, blue lash marks were all over her body, with blood flowing from where her blade had been carelessly angled and bit in through skin. The black tipped arrow was still embedded deep in her shoulder, with blood flowing freely still. Her tunic was in shreds; Daleria was in generally very bad shape. 

The colonel's voice was a mixture of anger, worry and fear. 

'Wot on earth were you thinking, captain? Look at what you got your bally self into! Don't do such flippin foolish things next time wot! How are you feeling?' 

A faint and weak answer came. 

'My body is on fire, and my shoulder, well lets just say that I've been there and done that so I wont go into the details.' 

Right then Longrunn came hurrying over with Daleria's pouch. He was a fairly good medic; having been through quite a few scrapes himself. 

'Oh seasons of famine, old gel; you've got yourself into jolly bad form wot! Sabre slashes here there and everywhere, and I bally well won't be able to fix that jolly old shoulder of yours with the limited stuff you've got here. Let's just get the arrow out fix wot.' 

With the colonel holding her still, Longrunn wrenched the arrow out in one vicious swipe of his paw. Daleria let out a violent shudder of pain and an anguished yell. Her shoulders buckled violently, then she went fairly limp. 

'Ouch. That hurt, sergeant.' 

'We need to get you back to Salamandastron, and quick wot!' 

Daleria tried to stand up, but her knees gave way beneath her and she crumpled straight back onto the colonel, who caught her. 

'What on Mossflower are you trying to do, me gel? You're the only living creature I know who tried to stand after being whipped by a blade and shot by a blinkin arrow!' 

'My sabre and staff.' 

Lieutenant Dallaw came up. 

'I got those marm. And here's yore necklace.' 

He gently placed the sapphire around her neck. 

'Thank you...' 

Anything else she tried to say was cut off by another violent shudder. The colonel chided her. 

'Don't talk, old gel, Stargaze has just got a stretcher ready. 

Daleria was lifted by willing paws onto the makeshift stretcher, and was slowly brought back to Salamandastron. When they made it, Lady Consellariel was waiting, and she rushed forth. 

'Daleria! What happened? Why?' 

All the ashamed hare captain could mutter was, 

'I'm terribly sorry marm. I shouldn't have gone against your orders.' 

Her face was turned away from Consellariel. Daleria knew she must have hurt Consellariel greatly, and more than anything else, failed as a hare captain. She didn't know how to face the shame. 

A gentle paw turned her face, and Consellariel's soft brown eyes pierced through her own and bore through her mind. 

'Captain Daleria, you have done only what a good and honourable friend would have done. You have placed you own life in the way of immense danger for your friends, comrades and officers alike, showing no fear. Such courage and loyalty is rare and hard to find. You have not failed in any way as a captain or as a good and faithful friend. You are truly one of the long patrol.' 

'But I went against your orders.' 

'You have not, in a way. You did only what your conscience made you do, and you cannot prevent yourself from doing that.' 

'Thank -' 

Suddenly a pained riddled yell escaped Daleria's lips, she could not withhold the searing pain that was throbbing viciously in her shoulder any longer. Fighting desperately to push away the familiar fog clouding her edges of her mind, she lay helplessly as she heard a distant, faraway yell for Taremin, the rapid patter of falling footpaws against rock floor, and the strange and awkward sensation of herself being brought up into the infirmary before the world closed in on her and her mind went blissfully blank. 

* 

When Daleria finally awoke , she felt a slight, numbed throbbing at her left shoulder, all four paws felt as heavy as lead, and a fiery burning blazed through the many gashes that she had received. Her head felt as if somebeast was pounding away with a rock hammer, yet everything seemed to be glazed over with a sweet numbness that she was not willing to break very soon. As she gazed absently around, she saw sunlight flowing through the rock hewn infirmary windows and a few blurry figures that turned out to be the colonel and her patrol, of which Longrunn, Dallaw, Reaprunn, Wellam and Fitirel had taken time off duty to come over. A bit confused, Daleria spoke up, hoping to orientate herself with the current the going ons. 

'Wha --? What happened? Oh. Hello.' 

The colonel answered her partially unspoken question evenly, filling her in on what had happened in the period of time that she had been dead to the world. 

'You blacked out two days ago, m'gel. In that time Taremin has been working her ears off to patch you up. You're bally well injured everywhere.' 

'It's been two whole days, sah? What has happened since then?' 

'Lady Consellariel has been fixing your sabre, but besides that, nothing has really occurred in the time.' 

'My sabre? What's wrong with my sabre sah?' 

'That ferret chipped it that day. Lady Consellariel thought that you would appreciate it if she fixed it before you awoke.' 

Daleria winced at the painful memory, the lash marks stinging fiercely on her skin as an annoying and stinging reminder of what had happened that day. Idly changing the subject, she switched to what she hoped would appear as a completely random topic. The captain mentally hoped the few there who knew her well would be careless enough so as not to notice any deeper meaning beneath her words. 

'Have there been any sightings of black foxes or any other beasts of such?' 

'No. Why should there be?' 

The colonel raised a questioning eyebrow at her. Daleria dismissed it with a mental sigh of relief that was coupled with a mental groan at the same time, oddly enough, while waving the question away with a paw. 

'Oh, nothing much sah, just asking.' 

The colonel immediately exchanged glances with Sergeant Longrunn, as they were both pondered over the same thing. Daleria would never ask questions about specific things then dismiss it as lightly as she just had. There was always a deeper meaning. Daleria was hiding something, that he was sure of. Daleria could be very casual when it came to such affairs, which usually made others slip into her trap and dismiss it as any other sentence. But Rapieratce was not as easily fooled as any other beast, having known Daleria quite well over the seasons. The issue was the same with Longrunn, who also knew Daleria, practically inside out and upside down. The two knew they were going to have to corner the young captain's problem before she let it run loose and completely loose control of her own situation. The sergeant drew himself up to the bed and asked, 

'Right ho Daleria, for some reason, I don't believe what you just said, wot. What are you hiding this time?' 

The hare captain looked up with a carefully constructed blank face, and gave him her most innocent face that she could muster. One could almost see a halo over her head, as she feigned ignorance. 

'What do you mean hiding something, sergeant?' 

Rapieratce took his turn and looked Daleria straight in the eye from where he was sitting. Without blinking away his piercing glare, he said, as even and calm as he ever was. He was almost scary when he looked at her that way. Daleria badly wanted to break the contact, but she knew it would only be giving the game away if she did, so she had to bear it out, hard as it was. 

'You know what the sergeant means, captain. We both know you are jolly well hiding something.' 

'Hiding something, colonel?' 

'You know verily well of what I speak.' 

His bright, dark green eyes blazed directly into her own black ones as he spoke, and it was starting to make Daleria a little bit uneasy. It was as if he could read her mind, and the way he could outstare nearly anybeast was intimidating. Mentally, Daleria cursed, knowing full well that trying to pry this affair out of Rapieratce's grasp would be almost impossible after this. The colonel was not one to leave loose ends simply hanging there, even when it was a petty conversation. Her entire cover had just flown out the window and crash landed into the sea. She slumped back into her pillow, defeated. Sighing, she responded slowly and reluctantly. 

'I suppose that you know me too well, sah. Very well, I shall tell you. It is not a pleasant story, however. It rarely is.' 

Everybeast in company listened intently as she retold her story, of Seppak the Black and the affair that made him blame her for his sister's death, his swordfoxes and that night so long ago that she did not want to bring up. After she had finished her considerably lengthy tale, the colonel sat back in his chair and a faraway look glazed his green eyes over. There was a short silence, and then Rapieratce launched a surprising question after a few moments of silent thought. 

'What do you plan on doing, captain?' 

Though he asked, he already knew what the shocking answer would be. It was, after all, Daleria he was talking to. All he wanted was to make sure that the captain was not going to do anything foolhardy. Well, at least prevent her from doing so when the time came, at any rate. Daleria spoke without hesitation. 

'Hunt the vermin down and slay him, sah.' 

Sighing, sergeant Longrunn looked at Daleria experatedly. 

'As I have told you before, you cannot throw yourself into a throng of vermin just like that, like before with Vaxial, be the numbers big or small. Furthermore, Swordfoxes are dangerous creatures, unpredictable, fast and extremely skilled in their trade as anybeast could possibly even hope to be.' 

The captain shot back with an edge to her voice. 

'As am I.' 

The colonel looked at the captain again. 

'So mayhap you are. But no matter how highly skilled, nobeast is invincible. You cannot do this alone.' 

Daleria's head whipped over and made eye contact with Rapieratce once again. His clear, dark green eyes were afire with his normal pure, unnerving calmness as they always were, and his natural leadership ability to command. A sense of wisdom, that one, specific look of knowing that so few possessed were also embedded somewhere in those deep places. There was also that one, unnatural flare that was his alone, impossible for any other beast to possibly recreate, describe or explain, it was just... His. Daleria's were fierce and confident, as they always were, something that showed she would not give up any time soon, at least not without a fight to the last. There was a sense of some knowing that was gained purely through experience, a sadness and aurora of reminiscing and longing. It was glazed over with a hate that was directed towards all that had brought the evil upon her and her family, an undeniable wanting for revenge and the light of battle. Her fathomless black eyes were questioning his. 

'What do you mean by I cannot go alone, sah? What are you trying to say?' 

Heads turned towards the colonel for an explanation. 

'What I am saying, captain, is that we try to get Lady Consellariel's consent, and go together and find this Seppak fellow.' 

'We, sah?' 

'Yes we. As I mentioned earlier, you cannot go alone wot. If m'lady approves, I will go with you, as will your patrol, and mayhap a few others.' 

Consellariel strode in, to everybeast's slight shock. The hares sitting down all got up and saluted her, while Daleria struggled painfully to get up. The badger lady dismissed it with a nod. 

'At ease, all of you, and Daleria, lie down before you hurt yourself more.' 

Pulling over a chair, she sat down next to the colonel and motioned for the others to do likewise. Turning, she interrogated Rapieratce closely. 

'Approve what, colonel?' 

Exchanging a quick glance with both Longrunn and Daleria, the colonel started to explain. Finishing, everybeast in attendance looked keenly at Consellariel, waiting for an answer. There was violent doubt in her eyes, and it was clear she was debating whether to allow them, her colonel and one of her best captains and closest friends as well as an experienced hare patrol, plunge into a pack of swordfoxes of which return could be doubtful. 

'No.' 

An immediate outroar broke out from the side of the patrol. Rapieratce simply kept silent, knowing that the persuasion was not his to do. Daleria started to plead, as he had clearly anticipated in advance. 

'But marm! Why not?! There are only a score of those foxes!' 

A sharp, acute bark silenced them all. 

'I will not allow my colonel to go without a substitute in his place, and if there is one, your patrol might not be enough to overcome the foxes. The score Daleria saw may only be a small part of a main pack. That is my say in this matter.' 

The second Consellariel finished, Rapieratce sneaked quick a glance at Daleria, and even though he didn't make eye contact with her, he could see from her tensed up body and the fiery glint in her eyes that she was an emotional volcano waiting to happen. With or without Consellariel's consent, she would got to spare the lives of others, and finish what Vaxial had long ago started. 

Turning his head to face the badger lady, his eyes clearly gave warning to her about what would come, and yet at the same time a glint of plead. The badger lady noted the look with her experienced eye, and sighed resignedly against the onslaught of complaints and warnings. She knew that Rapieratce would most definitely be correct in his judgement of the matter, he had, after all, known Daleria slightly longer than she, and knew her better as a friend than she could ever hope to be. She reluctantly gave leave. 

'Very well, but you bring a further twenty hare patrol with you, and I insist if anybeast is heavily injured you must return.' 

The hares nodded silently, satisfied. 

'Fine. You shall leave when Daleria recovers sufficiently. In the mean time, find a replacement for Rapieratce and choose the twenty other hares.' 

Consellariel slowly got up and left. Even though she had given consent, everybeast could see from her reluctance and worried frown that it was not given willingly. 

* 

A Week Later 

* 

Daleria had got up at dawn that day, healed and ready. Her pouch was slung across her neck, her sabre, newly repaired, buckled across her back. Her lightweight quarterstaff in paw, she marched out of Salamandastron, meeting up with Colonel Rapieratce, her patrol and the further twenty hares. Saluting the colonel, she walked over to the head of her patrol, and they made their way across the first sand dune. 

Lady Consellariel stood at her forge window, with Brigadier Remora, standing in for Colonel Rapieratce at the moment, ready and waiting at her side. There was worry on her face, more than Remora had ever seen before. She decided to inquire about it. 

'Wot's wrong, marm?' 

'I've always been close to that captain, ever since she first arrived here. She's already been through so much, I don't know how much more she can take before she finally breaks...' 

Remora looked out grimly at the slowly receding figures that were dissipitating gradually into the background at a steady pace. 

'Daleria's a tough one, marm, and she has good friends and some of the best fighters by her side. She will pull through somehow, wot.' 

* 

Seppak the Black laughed out a cold bark as he watched Daleria and her team leave Salamandastron. At his side were three hares, bound and gagged. They were Tehora, Silecy and Mealiney, a captain and two Gallopers. They were all sisters, and very close friends of Daleria, having been training together for quite some time while Daleria was completing her basic training, and stayed fast friends after. They had been out on a scouting patrol when they had been overcome by Seppak and his six score swordfoxes, being swarmed was too much to handle, even though they took down a few with them. On his other side was a furred fox, who looked aged and an obvious veteran at his trade. 

'Look, Analag, good things come to us!' 

'Aye, lord, your sister will truly be avenged and you shall rule over Salamandastron!'   
  



	4. Guilt

Daleria stooped low, eyed something on the ground, then dropped down fully on her knees, closely examining some carelessly left tracks in the sand that had not faded away. 

'Hmm…' 

The colonel came over to join her, peeking over her shoulder as he peered down at the sand. 

'What is it, m'gel?' 

'Look at these tracks, sah, they seem to be looping towards Salamandastron and not in the direction that we are heading in, sah. Pretty odd, if I do say so myself' 

Rapieratce got down beside her, scrutinizing the tracks as well. 

'Hmm… That's true, captain. D'you think we should backtrack?' 

Getting up, Daleria replied slowly, obviously reluctant to do the aforementioned. 

'Mayhap we should send some scouts forward and see if this isn't a decoy, sah.' 

The colonel got up after her, dusting sand off his tunic. 

'Right, then.' 

He called out two gallopers, Cosenet and Willow. They were both trustworthy, fast and reliable. He sent them forth with orders to scout the north and south, making a full circle of the surroundings. All they had to, and could do was wait. 

*** 

Cosenet and Willow had found little to nothing in the north of the camp, so they did a sweeping loop towards Salamandastron, where the paw tracks led. They stopped for a short moment to catch their breath after the long run. Cosenet frowned, looking around her as she commented over to Willow. 

'You know, old chap, I have this blinkin odd feeling that we're being watched…' 

Willow, on the other hand, dismissed the thought with an idle wave of her paw as she took a quick swig from her water skin. 

'How could we? There have been no single flippin sign of those blinkin vermin anywhere.' 

Suddenly, two pairs of rough, strong paws grabbed them from behind, pulling them backwards before they could even lift a paw. Willow kicked out with her footpaws, writhing madly as she tried to make contact with her ambusher stomach while Cosenet struggled as much as she could, trying to elbow her own attacker. After a while, they realized that their strength was unequal, and had to give up. After they had subsided, a raspy, uncivilized voice spoke from behind them. 

'Harr, are we by chance the "blinking vermin", me laddo?' 

A blunt object struck both on the head, and as pain streaked out slowly, the world fogged up and slowly and painfully faded out. 

*** 

Daleria was starting to worry. The scouts had been sent out just neigh noontide, and now the moon shone brilliantly at its peak. It was only supposed to be a short, fast sweep of the north and south area, which would only have taken until dusk, even by an inexperienced galloper. Something was most definitely wrong. Quietly, she swiftly left the camp area alone without alerting anybeast, and headed towards Salamandastron. There were large, towering sand dunes on either side of her, providing ample cover for the captain as she weaved her way towards the mountain for a quick scout. Then she saw it. 

Light. 

Blazing, red fire. Daleria saw it from atop a large sand dune. Dropping flat onto the cool sand and folding back her ears so as not to give away her presence should a sentry see her silhouette against the night sky, outlined by the moon, she peeked over the brink of the dune and summed up the affair. A relatively large vermin camp spread out before her, everything was laid for display for her to see. Her keen eyesight and good speculation sized up around a hundred vermin there, mostly swordfoxes with the occasional scattering of rats, weasels, stoats and foxes. Suddenly, her eye caught onto a large, crudely made wooden cage in the centre of it all. She could see five hares, and no less. She knew this was an incredibly bad turn. 

Hostages. 

Daleria had seen enough. Rolling down slightly, she crept back towards her camp, panic flowing through her veins and making her pound her footpaws continuously onto the hard sand, practically skimming across the sand as she rushed back. Moonlight showed only a blurry figure as she flew across the sand, like a fleeting shadow, without a sound. She knew that time was of the essence. Five lives were at stake. She reached the camp at record speed. She made her way over to the sleeping colonel. Dropping softly onto the ground, she shook him awake. 

'Sah! Sah! Wake up, sah!' 

After he had sufficiently arisen, Daleria hurriedly reported her find before voicing her opinion. 

'I think we should head back to Salamandastron, sah. If we are caught out here, we stand no chance. But if we proceed back to the mountain, he will use the five to bargain. But at least we stand a chance to save them.' 

'I agree, captain. But we have to be incredibly careful to avoid them.' 

'We have to move now, sah, swift and silent, or else… What may happen, I do not want to find out.' 

'I will rally the troops.' 

Within a short period of time, the camp was packed, its fires cleared. It was like nobeast had ever set paw on the area. With a quick wave of a paw, the group moved off. Just at the crack of dawn, they arrived at Salamandastron. The colonel and Daleria rushed off towards the forge to report the happenings to Lady Consellariel, leaving the rest of the patrol behind at the entrance. Knocking at the door, they entered. Consellariel was shocked to see them, and knew that whatever they were possibly there for, it was definitely not good. 

'What is it, colonel, captain?' 

There was a hasty explanation as both watched the badger lady get more and more shocked, stunned and angry with every sentence. Daleria winced as they finished and the badger lady voiced her thoughts. 

'What? 5 hare hostages?! At least two are ours?' 

'Yes, marm.' 

The colonel knew it was a very bad time, but her told the badger lady still. 

'Marm, Silecy, Tehora and Mealiney have been reported missing in action.' 

Consellariel whirled around and gripped Rapieratce by the shoulders so hard that he was lifted clear off the floor and it hurt his shoulders. Fury and anxiety were emblazed in her eyes, as she practically screamed out orders into his face. 

'Order sentries at all openings, lookouts are not to leave the interior, all patrols cancelled, call in all ones already aboard, gather my officers!' 

Nearly pushing Rapieratce out the door as she released him, she barked out a final command before stalking into the forge and proceeding hammering a poor piece of metal to leaf thinness in anger. In the midst of her pounding and rattling, she yelled back at the two. 

'Dismissed!' 

Backing out of the room, Daleria turned and ran straight into her dormitory, slamming the door shut behind her and leaving a stunned Rapieratce to recover alone in the corridor. Pausing for moment, he looked around and saw Captain Joseph pass by. Grabbing the captain's attention, he rapped out the orders before moving towards Daleria's dormitory. 

Putting his ear to the door, he heard a faint sobbing noise coming from inside. Tentatively, he knocked on the door. 

'Captain…?' 

A sullen voice answered him. 

'Go away, colonel.' 

'Let me in, Daleria.' 

'GO AWAY, Rapieratce.' 

'Open the door.' 

''ATCE!' 

'Open up the door, Daleria.' 

The was an obvious hateful silence from inside. Finally, a small voice said, 

'It's unlocked.' 

The dark wooden door opened slowly and the colonel saw Daleria curled up on her bed, back towards him. He quietly moved over and sat down next to her, not looking at her. They simply sat like that for a few moments, neither wanting to saw anything to the other. Finally, after the silence had dragged on for too long, Rapieratce spoke. 

'It wasn't your fault, you know.' 

Daleria's head was looking straight ahead, out of the window, where a brilliant sunrise was, blatantly refusing to look at the colonel. There was something in his eyes that made her crumble to dust, and thus she did not want to look anywhere near those green orbs of his. Still looking ahead, she answered softly. 

'Yes it was. I was the one that wanted to go out after him. I got them into this…' 

Rapieratce sat and looked at the sunrise as well. The golden brilliance spread out before them, rising high above the horizon and climbing higher and higher into the bleak sky. Without shifting his gaze from the shining rays, Rapieratce spoke quietly back in return. 

'You didn't know this would happen.' 

'I could have stopped it.' 

Rapieratce looked intently at her figure, frustrated at her obstinate stubbornness. Daleria felt the hairs rise on her neck, but still refused to look at him. Rapieratce spoke. 

'Look me in the eye, Daleria, and tell me you did it.' 

She looked up very reluctantly, trying not to break down completely and just run away. Rapieratce's eyes were as calm as ever, patient, yet fiery and it gave her an odd feeling that he could see right through her as his bright, fathomless dark green eyes pierced through hers, as if telling her, daring her, to do it. Her own raven black ones glittered with guilt and spite for what she had done, yet she did not turn it down. Strong and violent stutters came out. 

'I... I... did...' 

The colonel did not shift his gaze, nor did his own stubborn and insistent emotion change. 

'You did nothing.' 

Daleria's head slumped back down, deflated and defeated. She put up a feeble argument. 

'But look at Willow, Cosenet, Silecy, Tehora and Mealiney! Look at where my stubbornness got them!' 

'They were on patrol, the vermin got them while they were not looking. You were not there, you cannot blame yourself.' 

Daleria pulled her eyes away from his blazing glare. She could not stand it any more. It was sending shivers down her back. 

'But...' 

'Daleria, do I have to stay here until sunset to get you to understand?' 

'No, sah... I just feel so guilty.' 

'You simply need time. Dry your eyes, m'gel. It's not your bally fault.' 

'I'm sorry sah, for yelling at you earlier on, I wasn't thinking.' 

The colonel smiled gently at her. 

'It's all right, old gel. As long as you understand.' 

'Thank you, sah... It just feels so, _strange_, the way I'm getting everybeast into such trouble. I hate it. I don't want any other creatures to die just because of me. Why can't I just end it?' 

Rapieratce immediately swung his gaze straight back at her. Daleria turned her head away. Rather sharply, he said. 

'Don't you ever think that, m'gel. This is a problem that involves everybeast, not just you. You cannot take the blame on your shoulders. It would only make things worse.' 

Barely in a whisper, Daleria said. 

'But it all comes down to me.' 

A sole tear trickled down her face, cutting a trail down her cheek. She could feel Rapieratce's green eyes on her. 

_He is going to be the death of me._

His paw wiped away the tear. He lowered his voice and softened his tone. 

'Don't take the blame on your own bally shoulders, m'gel. Don't make things worse for yourself.' 

That made Daleria break down completely. Her shoulders shook violently as a slow stream of tears cut down her face. She made no noise, simply crying without sound. It was almost frightening how she kept all her emotions so bottled up that when she did release them, she only released that small bit and never let it simply fade away and let go. Rapieratce put a paw on her shoulder. 

'Don't do this to yourself, Dale, please!' 

There was nearly a hint of desperation in Rapieratce's voice. To be truthful, he was desperate. He had never seen Daleria break down so badly before. It was scaring him. 

'No. Why can't you see that I can't just let this affair slip away? Do you think that I don't want to? I can't just let this fade away, Rapieratce. I've already lost everything that I can possibly loose. What more worth is there now? I cannot just let it slip away like it never happened, 'Atce! It was my entire family, my entire life that went down that night. Then they came back another time and took away the single thing that I had left, just as I thought everything might work itself out and that peace would restore itself into my life. I can't just let them get away with all of that and think that it never happened!' 

'Please Dale, don't say that. You haven't lost everything. Don't do this.' 

Daleria let out a shaky laugh, but her voice was steady. It was as if she never even noticed that she was crying. It showed how much she did not care anymore. 

'Haven't I? Then what do I still have?' 

'You have your friends, Dale, you have a lot of things in this life worth living for. You just have to realize them.' 

Daleria chose to ignore him. 


	5. Knowing

Instead, she simply got up and walked out of the room. Rapieratce followed behind her. She walked down the corridor, and before long stopped at a door. Daleria pointed at it. 

'Then tell me, Rapieratce, why is it that there isn't a major by the name of Clandestine behind that door?! And tell me again, why isn't it that there isn't a family somewhere over in the western plains that I can call my own? And tell me, why is it that I am still standing here when I should be somewhere else where I can actually stop this madness?' 

Rapieratce looked at her with pleading eyes. 

'Don't do this, Dale. You know that whatever happened, it happened, and that nobeast can help that any more.' 

Daleria looked at him, tears still streaming down her face. 

'Then what will help me?' 

Daleria put her back against the wall and slid down slowly, savouring the support as her knees gradually gave way beneath her, unable to take the stress she was going through. She threw her head back and left it there, her eyes closed, but the tears not stopping as sobs racked her body. Daleria shook helplessly, too overcome by the situation to do anything else. 

Rapieratce felt completely helpless, for the first time in a long time. He could only watch as the strong willed hare that he had come to know broke down in front of him, withering into a helpless creature right before him. When it came to Daleria, there was never really anything that he could usually do to help her. The hare captain rarely accepted help from anybeast, least of all from him of all the hares on the mountain. Desperate, he dropped to his knees and tried to pull her up. 

'Dale! Please! Don't do this to yourself!' 

Daleria lifted her head momentarily and looked at him. Rapieratce nearly shuddered at her gaze, had it not been for his self control. It was hopeless, there was nothing in her eyes that showed that she would even consider going on. 

'Then what am I supposed to do, 'Atce? What? I can't find anything. Nothing. It's empty.' 

Rapieratce pulled her up and literally dragged her into the late Clandestine's room and shut the door quietly behind them. Daleria simply stood there, letting her eyes roam the empty room. Everything. From the bed, as neat as it ever was, the spare sheathe on the wall, an abandoned quarter staff that stood silent in the corner, even the neat sheaf of papers in a corner on the wooden table that stood in a corner with a bottle of ink and a quill standing beside it waiting. It was as if the major had never left it. The room seemed, felt, even smelt like Clandestine. Another tear dripped down and landed on the floor. Daleria dropped to her knees. Rapieratce tried to pull her up. 

'Daleria! You can't do this to yourself! There are more things that you have now that can make up for what you have already lost, I swear. Look around you. Look at all your friends that are always there when you fall, ever ready to pull you back up. Look at Dallaw, Longrunn, me even! We're all here for you whenever you need us. You know that we will be.' 

Daleria refused to stand, only kneeling there, crying soundlessly for a while longer. When she spoke, her voice was barely able to be heard. It was like a whisper in the leaves that was there but could not be heard. It was as if she was dead. 

'So you all are now. But will you be here later? What would happen if I somehow got you killed as well, like I have for so many others? What if that should ever happen? What would I do then? I have brought doom to too many already. I don't want to bring it to any more.' 

Rapieratce dropped down beside her. 

'That won't happen, Dale. We are as capable of surviving as you are. You know we are.' 

Daleria's shoulders shook. She looked up at the taller Rapieratce, desperation and sorrow in her eyes. She whispered slowly. 

'But I'm just so scared.' 

Then she simply collasped, straight back into Rapieratce, weeping. The colonel managed to catch her in time. She could not stop her crying, though. The colonel was trying frantically to get her to cease her tears, but she simply could not. It was as if it were taking over her completely and wholly, and she was giving herself up. Rapieratce was at loss of what to do but simply try and comfort her. After several moments, she calmed down enough to choke out several sentences. 

'It's all been taken away! Time and again, each and every time. It won't stop! It will only keep coming back. It haunts me, can you not see? It follows me day and night, plauging me, 'Atce. It won't go away, it never has. It has already taken my family. I'm empty. There's nothing I can go up to any more. I don't know what is going to happen, and it scares me, sah, it scares me more than anything else I've ever been frightened of. I don't know what is going to happen to me. I cannot control anything. What if...? They say that I'm too young to take this. I don't know anymore. Fate does not seem to care. It keeps on coming back. Why can't I just stop it? Why?' 

Rapieratce took a long look into her eyes. What he saw was not the ever persistent, mature hare that never needed telling nor help that he usually encountered daily, not by far. It was a frightened, lost young hare that had simply grown up too fast and was losing track of things, and was simply looking out for a guiding light to help her find her way again. He immediately felt a pity for her that he had never felt before. 

'I cannot answer your questions, Dale, all I know is that as long as you believe, there will be something there to help you find your way out of this. This affair cannot last forever. It will go away soon enough. You simply have to last it out, and no matter what comes, you will find a way.' 

Daleria looked up at him again. This time, Rapieratce found something there. Hope had been rekindled. Relief flooded through him like an immense tidal wave. Daleria got up shakily after that, blood having returned to her footpaws, returning her ability to stand and walk. Giving him a short, wavering smile, she said. 

'Thank you, Rapieratce. Thank you for helping me.' 

Rapieratce got up as well, shaking his head. 

'You only needed a bit of guidence, that was all. Now go get some sleep, you've been up since dawn yesterday without a bally wink.' 

Daleria instinctively retorted back. 

'Speak for yourself.' 

'Haven't lost your old self entirely, have you, eh?' 

Daleria grinned, but she had to admit that the colonel was right. She was tired. 

'Fine, fine, I'll go.' 

'Good on you. I need to attend to some blinkin matters, but never mind about me. Go and get some sleep. A chap would think you bally well needed some.' 

With that, he strode out, leaving Daleria to walk back to her room and ponder over his advice in silence. When she thought about it long enough, she slowly came to realise that Rapieratce was right. There were things in life that were truly worth living for. Maybe some of them were not definite, but they were there, nevertheless. She would cross the bridge when she came to it, and, one way or another, she knew that somehow, she would pull herself through this. She fully appreciated, and at that moment, truly was thankful for all that her friends had already done for her. Without them... Soon, however, weariness took over her, and she gradually slipped into a blissful, dreamless slumber, at least for a while. Daleria's dreamless slumber did not last for very long, however. The black background contorted and became speckled, and Daleria looked onto a morbid scene of the night she had lost her sister. The one final shimmer of the blade, the fall of Clandestine, the howling and the pale moon, reflecting in the fathomless, unknown place where nightmares dwell, repeating, over and over, until it drove her to the edges of insanity, yet never pulling her over, just dragging her back, moving her towards torture that she could not ward off. It continued in an agonizing silence, and though she tried repeatedly to scream, nothing came out, just silence. Daleria tried to wake up, but the dream was like an unyielding prison, entrapping her, refusing to let her go... 

* 

_That's strange... Daleria has never been late for her drills before... She could not have..._

Rapieratce was severely worried. He thought he had already put the matter behind him, but it seemed as if Daleria was not out of her own minituature black hole just as yet. Shooting a troubled look at Longrunn, who was also looking rather disturbed and puzzled, he set out towards Consellariel, who had came down to over look the tight training that day. He walked stiffly over to the badger lady, who was still fuming slightly over the mountain's current pridicament. Tentatively, he spoke. 

'Marm?' 

Consellariel looked sharply at the colonel and very nearly snapped back to him in answer. 

'What is it, colonel?' 

Slightly taken aback by the rude edge to the usually calm badger's voice, but hiding it all the same, Rapieratce leaned closed and whispered quietly over to her, so as not to attract too much attention. 

'Lady Consellariel, captain Daleria, she is not down for training, not yet at any rate, wot. Something must be bally wrong. She has never been late, wot, not even after the passing of Major Clandestine, marm.' 

Consellariel turned around abruptly, concern was clearly evident in her deep voice as she spoke. 

'What? Where is the captain now, then?' 

'The last time I saw her was in her dormitory, wot.' 

'Leave the training to Remora. Come with me.' 

'Yes marm.' 

Quietly signalling to the Brigadier with his paws to continue the exercise without him, the colonel silently slipped away after the fast paced badger lady to the second storey dormitories where the officers slept. Falling in step with Consellariel, Rapieratce followed her until they came to a stop outside Daleria's dormitory door. The badger lady knocked once, waited for a while, but nobeast answered from inside to her call. Then she knocked twice. Still no response. The two gave up waiting. Bursting in, the sight they saw was not a nice one. 

The captain was on the floor, a broken glass next to her, twitching in her sleep, or if it could even be called sleep. It was as if Daleria was sub-conscious, as she jerked unnaturally, shards of glass in her arm. She was bleeding heavily The colonel paled considerably from seeing the sight. He feared what Daleria had come to. Consellariel rushed forward, and shook her by the shoulders. 

'Captain! Captain! Wake up!' 

Daleria shuddered violently, her eyelids fluttered, eyes rolling back into her head, then went limp. Just as soon as she blacked out, she revived herself, slowly pushing herself upwards, then shaking her head several times. By then, the badger lady's paws were red from the blood that seeped from the cuts. Gently backing the hare captain against the wall of her dormitory, Consellariel asked, 

'Daleria? Captain? Are you alright?' 

Daleria threw her head against the wall, earning herself a hard crack, then closed her eyes. A choked answer came out, barely eligible, 

'Take it away, take it away! I don't want... No... Argh! What happened? Ouch.' 

Consellariel checked her over without answering the question, wordlessly yanking out shards of glass from Daleria's arm. Job done, she stood up, her face grim and unsettled. Rapieratce, however, was by the captain's side, looking very worried. Lady Consellariel's voice was concerned, worried, grim and anxious all at the same time, all combined into a frown. 

'What happened, captain? You didn't come for drills today, so we came up to check for you, and found you like this. Only you know what truly happened.' 

Daleria shuddered violently, and something that resembled a whimper came out of her. Rapieratce nearly rammed his head into the wall when he heard it. Daleria almost never showed a moment of weakness like that. Never since he had made acquaintance with her, at least. She took a deep breath, and tried to put what had happened into words. 

'It, it was being replayed, again and again... That night, the same thing, over and over, and I could not wake up, nothing, just silence, and the blade... The major, the moon, the black, it would not go away, it stayed, I could not wake up, the silence, the scene, the light... I can't, no! I could not scream, it took me over, I don't know what else happened. I felt something pierce my arm, and hard ground, but it still stayed! It did not stop, it just went on and on, no! Take it away, I cannot see it! I mustn't! It is too much, I can't! No!' 

Daleria started twitching again, and sweat sheening on her brow. The colonel was really worried by then. Worried for the sake of the captain that he had grown to know. He knew that she would not manage to hold on if things continued like this. 

'My lady! She won't survive like this!' 

'I know, colonel, but I do not know what else to do. We cannot save her from her dreams... That is something that is most obviously beyong all of us. There is nothing much that we can do for her now. Take her to the infirmary, get Taremin to give her a sleeping potion of some sort or something in that manner. It is the most we can do now... Daleria, Daleria... What have you done to deserve this?' 

Consellariel knelt down, slowly shaking the captain again to prevent her from falling asleep. Daleria gripped her paw tightly, refusing to let go. 

'Don't let it, marm! I can't!' 

'Shh.. Calm down, captain. Nothing is happening to you. Please, hang on, we will try to do something...' 

This time, Daleria really did whimper, collapsing back onto Rapieratce, twitching and spasming uncontrollably, and the blood was not stopping either. Gathering her up in his arms, the colonel rushed to the infirmary, praying that it would turn out well... If Daleria gave up hope now, there would be no turning back. He hoped that she would keep his words in her head long enough to survive. 

* 

Daleria woke up, head throbbing, arms and paws on fire, and mind reeling dangerously. The room focused, blurred, then refocused again, but nothing really registered in her mind until a voice broke through the thin shell that blocked the way from sub consciousness to awakening. A familiar voice broke the transparent layer, and the captain fluttered her eyelids blankly for a moment, slightly disorientated. 

'Dale? Dale! You're awake!' 

Daleria slowly pushed herself up against her pillow, her head hammering away like no tomorrow, and in a shaky tone asked, 

'Tare? Taremin? What am I doing here? What happened?' 

Daleria got a heavy, tired sigh in response to that question. Taremin looked up from stirring a thick poultice, setting the bowl onto a nearby table, she sat onto the bed in weariness. Casting a knowing look over Daleria's weak form, Taremin shook her head sadly. 

'Dale... You already hold my record as the hare that has visited my infirmary more times than any other, and you've just added another injury to your name. You must have somehow been hallucinating or sommat like that, and knocked over your glass of water on the table... The glass shattered, you fell off your bed, somehow rammed your head against the floor, earning a hard knock there, without waking up, then the glass shared the aftermath...' 

'I really did it this time didn't I...' 

'Not really, actually... You've seen worse, much worse. I should know... Anyhow, put this poultice on, it'll help the cuts. You lost a considerable lot of blood that day. Those shards of glass did surprising damage to you. You've been in here for over two days and nights. The colonel and Lady Consellariel aren't too happy about it, I can tell you.' 

Daleria winced at the thought. 

'Lady Consellariel is probably going to kill me for this. Same goes for the colonel... Especially Rapieratce, in fact. I've worried them more times than I care to remember. Well, enough to get Rapieratce to give me a good long talk.' 

Pushing herself up properly into a sitting position, she applied the cool poultice, wincing at the deep gashes and cuts on her arms that burned and tingled as she did so. She tried to rest her head against the head board, but it hurt the second she lay it on anything hard, courtesy of the ramming against the walls and floors it had been exposed to. Daleria decided it would be better to keep her mind of her injuries at the moment. 

'What about those... dreams?' 

Taremin gazed at Daleria with something akin to pity alight in her grey eyes. 

'Sorry Dale, but giving you something to sleep is the most I can do... I don't know wot's causing it, my best guess is the stress you're under. Give yourself sometime, Dale... Nothing is totally your fault.' 

Daleria nodded quietly as if in agreement, but inside, her personal thoughts knew that the way she acted reflected what Taremin had said like a perfect mirror image. 

_Wise words, Taremin... I only wish I could knock enough sense into myself heed them... But I fear that I am already far too deep into this situation to back out of it now. The fault lies heavy on my shoulders, and you know that, I know you do. I wish I could admit it to my own heart, but it will not accept it... It is so hard to know what you are doing wrong yet not correct yourself. I do not know why I do it, I just simply do. Maybe I am too stubborn for my own good, but I cannot help it... For some odd reason, I cannot help it..._

Before Daleria could sink any further into her own fantasy land of thoughts and contemplation, the colonel strode quickly in, closely followed by the Lady, and finally her own patrol. The usual ensemble that came to visit her whenever she landed up in the bally infirmary, which had to be pretty often. Daleria inclined her head in respect, and kept it there, shading her eyes. She found no purpose in looking up. Daleria had just slipped into her reserved and silent mode, much to the slight panic and distress to all in company. They knew that pulling her out of that kind of emotional storm would be quite difficult, if they were dealing with the same Daleria they had been dealing with for a long time already. Lady Consellariel walked straight up to the bed, while the rest sat down. She looked down at the hare captain with her soft brown eyes, which were looking at her in corncern. 

'Daleria? How have you been?' 

Daleria, still not looking up, simply answered silently, keeping her eyes focused on the bedsheets. 

'Very well, marm, nothing I cannot handle.' 

'You will be fine, then?' 

'Yes, yes, I suppose so.' 

'The dreams, hallucinations?' 

'They have kept at bay, my lady, most probably because I was unconscious.' 

Daleria just did not seem to want to come out of her reserved, withdrawn mode. Consellariel looked at her with a slight frown on her face. 

'Daleria, I am going to put this very frankly, so listen to me. Please, stop it.' 

Finally looking up, Daleria asked, 

'Stop what, marm?' 

'Stop taking matters onto your own shoulders, captain, stop thinking that everything is entirely your fault. It is not a particularly healthy habit, as far as I'm concerned. Learn to level things up, Daleria, don't keep throwing yourself back into the throng the minute you get out of it. It will only make things worse for you. 

'I do not do all of that, marm. Honestly, what else am I meant to stop..? I cannot seem to find something that will help me out of this...' 

The colonel stood up suddenly, his temper abruptly letting loose all of a sudden, and his composure finally broke under the obsitnate actions of the hare captain. 

'Stop what, captain? Stop this, wot! You are jolly well hurting yourself for absoballylutely no reason whatsoever, m'gel! Stop it! You are worrying us to no bally end, for no reason at all wot! You need not do this! Leave the bally matter at rest, and let others handle it for once, wot! You need not worry your bally head off for no reason!' 

Daleria flared up too, after hearing what the colonel had to say. Struggling against the covers and blankets that trapped her in the bed, she snapped back at him. 

'Sah! Who are you to tell me what to do at a time like this? You have never been through what I have! You have never lost your own family, not in front of your eyes, and you have never been through this tirade of vermin and evil like I have! You don't know how it feels in my position. I cannot help what is happening, but I know I CAN stop it! You know you will not be able to stop me, colonel. You have all tried to stop me, and all failed. I am not stopping now, not after what I have had to do. I have nothing to lose anymore!' 

Colonel Rapieratce was positively quivering in anger by then. 

'Captain! All we are doing these bally things for is for you, wot! Do you think that we bally well don't care about how you jolly well feel? We know, captain! We know! We are just jolly well trying to help you, nothing bally more! You simply do not bally understand! You are young, m'gel, so do not abuse that! We are just trying to help you through this confounded escapade! Take not the whole bally blame! You are not the only blinkin' hare in the Long Patrol! There are the other lot of us too! We are here to help and bally well aid, so realize it, me gel, before it is too late! We have been through this blinkin situation before already, so do not make me repeat my bally self!' 

There was so much tension in the infirmary, anybeast would have though the roof would fall in. The was fire inbetween Daleria and Rapieratce, and Lady Consellariel was not happy either with the situation. The others watched in bated breath, hardly daring to breathe as the two battled it out with harsh words. 

'Do not push it with me, m'gel. We are just trying to help you out of your predicament, like we have been doing for so long already.' 

Rapieratce's voice was strained with anger, and it was clear that he was trying not to shout out loud at Daleria. Daleria just sat there, fuming, but knowing that she could not disrespect him. Her eyes were blazing, and one could almost see smoke pouring out of her ears. It was not a very pleasant conversation. Finally, Consellariel grew tired of the heated bickering and screamed for a stop. 

'Stop it at once! We are all on the same side here! There is not point bickering over something as small as this issue. What matters now is that the safety of these shores are under threat, and we need to resolve that, nothing more. You cannot be personal here, Daleria, and the same goes for you, colonel. When we have to sacrifice, we have to sacrifice, and this is one of those times. I cannot let Daleria out of this mountain, even if I have to chain her here! Do you not realize, that even if she does throw herself away, that Seppak will stop at nothing? It is not only her that he wants! It is Salamandastron! Come to your senses, both of you!' 

The small speech somehow or another managed to calm both the hares enough to knock sense into them, and Daleria settled back down while Rapieratce regained his composure and returned to his seat. Sighing out loud, Consellariel leaned back into her own. 

'This is a very touchy matter, I know, to both sides. You must all realize this fully. So please, do not make things even more complicated as they already are, because that is the last thing that I want at the moment. I cannot allow one hare to go gallavanting off and threating the rest of us, nor can I let my hares break out of discipline, so I seek cooperation, if that is too much to ask of sensible hares such as yourselves. Moving on to other matters, if you are well enough, Daleria, you may rejoin training today.' 

Daleria nodded silently, her eyes closed in stress, ears folded back. 

'Do not put everything on your own shoulders, captain, it will soon be over.' 

Daleria nodded again, still not opening her eyes. Consellariel sighed again. 

'You have always been stubborn about this, and I know it very well, Captain. Take in consideration I will go to any costs to stop you now, Daleria, and that I will not hold back like I have for so long. I cannot afford for you to get yourself hurt again, not at the rate that you are going. I know that when it comes to matters like this that you will no longer listen to me, badger lady or no, and that you will do only what is right in your eyes, as you always have done, sacrificing yourself simply for others. You forget that we all can survive equally as well as you can, my dear. You cannot stop everything, you cannot effect everything, you cannot change everything. I will not let you out of this mountain, not even if you kick and scream, do you understand that?' 

There was a muffled "yes marm" from the hare captain, but still Daleria did not look up. 

'Fine then, I will see you all later. Colonel, I want to see you in the forge now, and as for the rest of you, dismissed.' 

Consellariel then left the rock hewn infirmary to Daleria's patrol and Taremin. Rapieratce strode out after her silently. After she was out of sight, Sergeant Longrunn sighed in irritation, his eyes flashing slightly, speaking in frustration to the still silent Daleria. 

'You don't blinkin well care about what the Lady said about making sure to stop you, do you, Daleria? Listen, old gel, this won't get you anywhere. Just stay here, there's nothing bally else that you can do now. I just don't want you to get hurt, old gel. Take it easier, and you'll jolly well see that there's something else to this than giving yourself up. That's all I can say to you, captain. What will happen lies now in your own paws, wot.' 

Corporal Fitirel shook his head at her, knowing full well the wisdom on Longrunn's side and the obsinate and unmoving stubborness on Daleria's side was not the best concution for success or willing cooperation on Daleria's side, having been in her patrol, as well as Major Clandestine's for long enough. The rest of the company was silent, having all their thoughts already voiced by those who spoke. Shaking his head, Longrunn stood and left, closely followed by everyone else. Taremin knew that any other talk would be pointless, so went about her own work, leaving Daleria to her own ways. 

* 

Colonel Rapieratce stood at attention in the forge, Lady Consellariel looking him over. Signalling for him to sit down in a chair in front of her table, she sighed wearily. 

'Seppak's force is very near, Rapieratce. In two days they will be approaching these very shores, with their hostages intact, of that I am very sure. Our scouts say that a lone vermin messenger will be arriving in an hour or so, no doubt with some sort of a treaty asking for Daleria or something in that inane matter. I want you to watch over her as closely as you can, Rapieratce, do not let her out of your sight. I will be asking Remora to take over training in this case. If you see that she is going to run, I want you to take desperate measures this time, colonel.' 

Rapieratce looked up at her from his seat. 

'What kind of measures, lady?' 

Consellariel handed him a small key in response, and he gasped softly in shock when he looked at it. 

'Surely you are joking, marm!' 

A dead serious reply came striaght back at him. 

'I am not, colonel. If she shows any one indication of running, I want you to put her in a cell. Leave her in the prison cellars below for as long as it takes, colonel. I told her that I would not be holding back, and I most definitely will not. Do not hesitate, colonel. Hesitation could mean death. And that is one thing I want to avoid at all costs.' 

Rapieratce looked up from the cell key to Consellariel, eyeing the badger lady as if she were crazy. He did not believe his ears enough to say that he heard truly what she had said. Lock Daleria up? Never, and there was a great emphasis on never, had there been a case of a hare being locked in one of the prison cells down below, at least in his knowledge of Salamandastron history, which was quite through. The colonel started to voice his doubts aloud. 

'Surely you have ta be joking, marm? We can't just lock the poor gel up! The prison cells have never bally well been used for so many blinkin seasons that I can't jolly remember when they were occupied! This would be injustice towards the young captain!' 

Consellariel faced him, her eyes boring directly into the now standing colonel's. Her voice was deadly quiet, and one could sense the danger seething off of her. 

'You will do it if she tries, colonel, and that is **final**. You are under my command, and I am telling you this as a leader is to a follower. You have no right whatsoever to do anything against my orders, and you know that, so do not push matters, colonel!' 

Rapieratce was burning up, but he could not say anything to oppose to the Lady's instructions and direct orders. The lady's word was law in the mountain, and he knew he could not do anything against it, lest be deranked or something in that unpleasent manner. Forcing his head down in a curt nod, Rapieratce slipped the key into his tunic pocket, remaining standing at attention for dismissal. In the deep recesses of his mind, he silently apologized in advance to the unknowing captain, hoping feverently that she would understand his motives for this. Consellariel nodded at him, turning him away with a wave of her large paw. 

'Dismissed, colonel.' 

Turning around shortly, he saluted and left the forge, heart torn in two, but his head commanding him to follow Consellariel's orders. 

_Why did this task have to come unto my hands? I can't just do that to the captain... Dale..._

* 

Daleria lay in silent turmoil on the infirmary bed, not wanting to return to her dormitory or anywhere else just as yet, enjoying the solitary comfort of the infirmary. Her drilling was still two, blissful, hours away, but she was meant to be down at the lunch mess at the moment. Sighing, she forced herself to act on military impulse and pulled her weary body off the bed, betraying the feeling as if all her limbs were made of lead, she dragged herself down to the mess, forcing herself to lighten her step and keep her head high. Upon reaching the mess though, she saw Consellariel heading toward the main entrance with Captain Joseph, the very same hare who introduced her to the mountain so long ago, on her tail. That meant only one thing, and she knew it verily well. 

There was a messenger outside. 

Daleria slipped around the corner, hiding in the shadows, she silently followed the pair outside into the entrance, curious to find out what was going on. Little did she know that she was being closely followed by a seriously worried colonel. Hiding behind a rock hewn pillar that provided ample cover from the badger lady's or Joseph's sight, she saw a lone vermin messenger talking to Consellariel. She heard snatches of the conversation that floated her way. 

_'What do you want with us, vermin?'_

_'Seppak the Black demands that you hand over the lowly scum Daleria Windbind, the very one who murdered his sister.'_

_'Never. She belongs in Salamandastron, and nowhere else. Go back to where you came from while you still can, vermin!'_

_'You will hand her over, stripedog, or our horde will come and storm your mountain to the ground!'_

_'Never!'_

_'Fine! So expect our force in three days!'_

It was then that Daleria stood up straight, ears up in slight panic and worry. The thought of running away came into her mind in that instant, and she quickly whirled around. However, she was stopped by a firm paw. It was the colonel. 

'You are not going anywhere, captain. I have been asked to place you in the cellars until this has faded off.' 

Daleria started struggling madly against his strong paw, knowing full well that if she let the colonel take her that she most definitely would not be going anywhere in the near future. 

'Let me go, Rapieratce! Let me go!' 

'Sorry old gel. I have to.' 

With that, the colonel, who had superior strength compared to Daleria, twisted her paw around behind her back, grabbed her other arm and held the two together. Taking advantage of her stunned posture, he pulled her down the nearby staircase, yanking her until it hurt. Emerging in the cellars, he unlocked the door to one of the cells, shoved her in, and locked it with a quick click of a key. 

'Sorry, m'gel, but I had to. I hope you understand... I never wanted it to come down to this.' 

Before the angered Daleria could even get up or retort back at him, the colonel was gone. 

* 

Daleria got up from the damp cell floor in a dizzy daze, dearly hoping that whatever had happened did not really happen. Blinking a few times to clear the stars from her slightly blurred vision, she realized that she was truly in the cells below grounds, which had not been used for as long as she could remember, and that she did not have anything with her at all. No sabre, no key, not even a light to see by. Her wrists hurt, and she had slammed her head onto the cell floor relatively hard while she was being shoved in. Daleria winced at the memory at exactly whom had shoved her in. 

What was happening to the world? 

She was being thrown into a cell by a fellow Long Patrol hare, a senior officer and a close friend even, under orders by the same badger lady that she was serving under. This was insanity. But somehow, Daleria felt that it would have come down to this one way or another, as she had repeated herself enough times for Consellariel to know perfectly well what she was about to do, and was nimble enough to set a fellow hare, the colonel in fact, on her tail to make sure that she did not place a single footpaw out the doors of Salamandastron.   
Daleria knew the lady had told her that she would not be holding back in the measures that she would be taking to keep her in the mountain, but Daleria never expected Consellariel to stoop as low as this to prevent her from doing so. Mentally cursing herself for being to obstinate when it came to badgers, she realized that she had more contact and closeness with the badger lady than many other hares that had been in the mountain thrice as long as herself. It finally dawned on the captain that she was beginning to forget how powerful Consellariel really could be when she wanted to, angry or no, as this occasion clearly proved. 

Knowing that it would be no use trying to yell her lungs out to the colonel to let her out, Daleria crumpled back down into a small heap, knowing fully well that the matter was out of her hands, and that she could do nothing about it. So it was that the matter that her own family, or more specifically herself, had started was not finished, and that it had to be wrestled out of her hands. Why didn't they just let her go? Giving herself would be twenty times easier for everybeast on the mountain. 

_Stop it, Daleria, you know that even if you throw yourself out there willingly that there's not going to be one chance from here to Sampetra that the vermin are going to back away. Not now, not ever. Vermin will be vermin, mindless, battle intent, gruesome vermin. Nothing more, only less._

Bringing her head down to her knees, Daleria shivered slightly, unused to the unnatural cold in the cellars. She felt so useless, locked away down there, unable to do anything at all that could possibly help, even in the tiniest ways. So alone. And this matter was all her fault. It all started, so long ago, with so many lives lost, just because of her, and that accursed white vixen of Vaxial's. A silent tear rolled down her cheek, and the realization of everything that happened, and the harsh reality of it all crashed down on her. So long had she tried to live without thinking of what had happened before, but now, she could not escape the past, not when she was trapped in a corner where it could catch up with her and prey on her mind at its will. 

She needed to get it out of her head, she could not take it very much longer... 

* 

The colonel practically stumbled and crashed up the narrow staircase, refusing to think of what he had just done so short a time ago. The bright and deceptively cheery sunlight was almost blinding, even though he had only been in the dank cellars for barely a few seconds, he still had to blink a few times to clear his muddled sight. Steadying his step as much as he could, he made his way to the forge, of which he was meant to report to after he had fulfilled his job, thinking of the consequences he was going to face when the captain was going to be let out from the dark abyss below grounds. Rapieratce's usually emotionless face contorted at the very thought of that. Daleria was probably going to firstly give him the cold shoulder for three seasons, then yell her head off at him for doing that for a further two seasons, attempt to throw him off the mountain when the Lady wasn't looking, then attempt to severe his head off after doing all of that before repeating the process all over again. 

The small key in his pocket seemed to grow in weight with every step up that he took, as if willing him to just simply turn around, unlock the cell, and leave his troubled conscience clear. Forcing his eyes shut for a moment, the colonel took another step forward, knowing fully that in whatever direction he now turned, he would end up not stopping until he got either Daleria out, or the Lady Consellariel the key. Either way, he would be facing the wrath of either one of the two. Neither was a pleasant thing to go through, as he had learnt over the past few seasons. Forcing another step in the direction of the forge room, he told himself over and over again that after all this riff-raff was over, he could apologize as profusely to the captain as he pleased and get the matter over with, but at the moment, Consellariel's orders ruled supreme over all other issues, especially personal ones such as his. He hoped with all his heart that the captain would understand what he was doing this for. However, a nagging little voice that was not his came from the deep recesses in his head started going off, 

_'Of **course** DALERIA would understand WHY you THREW her into the cellars that have **never** held a hare for so long that they most probably have never been used. I'm suuuuuuuree that she'll understand just why you simply shoved her into a cell and just **left** her there without voicing ANY reason whatsoever. Riiiiiiight. You are only talking about the most hot-headed, obstinate, unmoving, stubborn, single tracked, short-tempered captain in the ENTIRE Long Patrol here, 'Atce. You are in for it now...'_

As much as he did not want to, Rapieratce knew that his conscience was right. The colonel was going crazy over his mental battle over self conscience and duty. Clenching his jaw in determination, he walked briskly forward, putting his eye on the now visible forge door, refusing to turn around. Half walking, half running, he screeched to a halt outside the massive wooden door, knocking half heartedly onto it. 

'Enter, colonel. Yes, I know that it's you.' 

The annoying voice chose then to make a reappearance. 

_There's no turning back now, 'atce. Daleria is going to skin you alive after this._

Forcing the thoughts out of his head, the colonel entered the forge, albeit more stiffly than usual, removed the key, which now seemed like a dead weight to him, and near slammed it down onto the table in front of him. The lady Consellariel nodded, raising an eyebrow. 

'So it is done, Rapieratce?' 

The colonel's conscience was complaining loudly at that point in time, but in the end, he had to force his head down in a curt nod in front of the ruler of Salamandastron. 

There was nothing he could do now. The matter was beyond his reach, highest ranking hare or no. 

The Colonel watched as Consellariel slowly picked up the tiny bronze key, fingering it before slipping it into her tunic pocket, as if purposely teasing him. Rapieratce's annoying voice that was his conscience perking up again. 

_That is it, 'Atce. There goes your last hope of ever getting Daleria out of there until this whole event has blown over. Good for you. I'll see you in the afterlife, shall I?_

Strongly and angrily willing the voice to simply disappear in the ways that voices in one's head disappear, the colonel raised an eyebrow at the badger lady, asking as calmly as he could ask right then, thanking his years of training as his voice came out steadily enough, what she was going to do with the captive captain. 

'So when are you going to let the blinkin gel out of there, marm?' 

Consellariel looked him over again, this time rather shrewdly, as if pondering over something related to him that she could not quite put her paw on. The colonel stiffened slightly, but did not show any other signs of tenseness. Seasons of training had made him cover over that area, and being the colonel was not a task that let emotions get into the way easily. This was one of the times that emotions did decided to place it's annoying head into, therefore resulting in this mayhem that had ensued. Consellariel shook her large head slowly, letting out a grim and humourless chuckle, her eyes still on his unmoving figure. 

'You wish that it was not you who had to do that, didn't you, colonel? You wish that it was not you that was placed upon this errand? I see it all to clearly. You have always been a hare acting on righteousness, haven't you, Rapieratce? You follow my orders, but anything under your power, you make sure gets carried out in a way that is morally correct, am I right? I have never, ever seen you do anything that resulted in any single one of your fellow Long Patrollers getting into trouble if they did not deserve it. You have reported a fair share of feisty youngsters, I know, but when it came down to those few certain situations that toyed on the brink of emotion, the very affairs that dealt with the heart, you gave in, did you not? Your heart has always gone out to those less fortunate than yourself, those who were confused, lost, or simply felt strange in this environment. Yet you know and understand that this is a situation that results in sacrifices, do you not? Was is not what you were brought up to believe, straight back from when you were only a patroller?' 

Rapieratce nodded stiffly, eyes ahead in strict military fashion, not looking at the badger lady at all. He refused to, knowing that every word coming out of her mouth was true. Which made matters even more difficult for him. He hated the way the badger lady could read him so clearing as that of an open book unlike so many others. 

'You know that at times like this when all is at risk that sacrificed have to be made, don't you? Well right now, we cannot let Daleria endanger us all by leaving the mountain. It would give the vermin at our doorstep another reason to attack, another victory to their side. They already have 5 hostages. All ours. We need not make that number six. Daleria is going to stay in there until this WHOLE thing has blown over, colonel. You may not like it, I may not like it, Daleria may not like it for all I care. All I know is that matters that involve anybeast else beyond Daleria, especially a whole mountain, will directly come into my hands, whether any other beast on this mountain likes it or not. I cannot shun from this duty, and you cannot shun your orders from me, do I make that clear?' 

Still keeping his eyes ahead, the colonel nodded soundlessly again. 

'You that if anything that gets Daleria out of those cellars involves you, consequences will apply, you know that very well. I will not be holding back on that either. You know what would happen, colonel, so do not make it happen. I know you understand this. I know very well. You just do not like giving others no chance in changing. Do not think that you can escape me knowing you after so many seasons under my service, colonel! Daleria will not change, not unless she has been forced to the edge. Even then she would never give up without a fight. She is a fighter, in more ways than one, so do not try to change that. You can attempt it as much as you want, Rapieratce, but I suggest that you refrain from doing so in this kind of situation.' 

Rapieratce did not say anything, only nodding silently again, his jaw clenched tight. Consellariel looked at him again, before waving her paw. 

'At ease, colonel. If you stand like that any longer, I swear you will start rooting to the ground.' 

Taking up a more comfortable standing position, he waited as Consellariel went on with a heavy sigh as she dropped down onto the ledge seat. 

'I am not usually like this, you know. Of course you know, you've been in this mountain quite long enough. This is just one of the rare times that I have to push my authority. Too much is at stake here to lose in a careless move or act. It must be stopped, at all costs. The ongoings between Daleria's family and her life is almost too far gone with her. She is on the edge. Who knows what she would do if let loose? You have seen her fight at those times, colonel. You know that she goes into a mad rage unless stopped. She must not be let to be able to hurt herself. This is simply to make sure that she cannot do any silly thing such as throwing herself away again. I care for every single hare on this mountain, and Daleria is no exception. I only hope that she understands... She is hot headed, verily so, almost to the point where she does not listen to advice, not mine, and only rarely yours. But she is not fool, not in the least. She will come to her senses in time... But how long will this take?' 

Silently, Rapieratce thought to himself. 

_I wish we both knew the answers to that blinkin question, marm. If we only did..._

Burying her head in her paw, the badger lady of Salamandastron looked in great distress. 

'I simply do not want to hurt her...' 

'Nobeast wants to willingly hurt another beast that is not in the wrong, marm.' 

'I suppose that you are right... But Daleria is so strikingly different from nearly everybeast that I have ever encountered before. They way she thinks, the way she holds herself... She takes life head on, never caring on what may happen to herself. She only cares to get her objective done, and beyond that, never gives thought to anything else, no matter the cost. Everything has gone by so quickly for her, yet she still handles it like she would any other. She simply will not let herself be conquered by anything, even if it kills herself. She always wants to appear so brave, and does so well at it that she hides her true self away, and never lets anybeast get to it. I know not how to approach her, she just seems to block herself off at all possible angles. She hides herself behind some sort of defence, which she had built up so well over the seasons. Yet she crumbles when it comes to some small matter or another. What am I to do to help her? Her emotions get rather tangled, and the wounds she has taken are still raw. I fear the I am doing nothing but rubbing salt into them...' 

'You only do the thing that seems jolly well right, marm, and this is no blinkin exception. She will come to terms with it.' 

Shaking her head wearily, Consellariel waved her free paw at Rapieratce, allowing him leave. 

'I have kept you long enough. The next drilling is in three hours. Remora is taking a break from this one. You take over. But I still want you to keep a eye on Daleria. I do not want her already frail condition to worsen any more than it has to. 

Rapieratce nodded silently before saluting and taking his leave. He too was hoping dearly that Daleria would come to terms with the idea that she was only in the cellars for her own good. But he felt that, somehow or another, she never really had ever come to terms with anything that she didn't want to. And this would not make an exception at all. Far from it. This was the root of her very problem. Sighing, he turned to go to his own dormitories to prepare for the training, and maybe a visit to her down below. 

* 

Daleria had just about enough. She had been in the small, dark, cold cell for almost a full day without anybeast even poking their head down the stairwell. Not even the lady had come to give her a rational explanation. It was madness. She highly doubted that any other beast in the mountain besides Rapieratce and Consellariel knew that she was stuck in here, for reasons even she did not know. 

_Let me out! Please, just let me out of here..._

Daleria wanted so badly to get out. Daleria needed to get out. The longer she was in here, the more time she had to reflect on all that had happened in her life, and the amount of misery and bitterness it had brought to so many others beside her. It was sticking in her head, and she had nothing to occupy her. Sleep was wandering in the faraway lands that nobeast goes to, and it did not show any intention of coming back any time in the near future. It was driving her crazy. Already slight hallucinations had begun to return, and she saw the flash of the blade again, and again, and again. Only now, it was worse. Daleria could just pick up the tiniest faint trace of a scream of pain in the background, no doubt Clandestine's. 

Major Clandestine. 

Daleria winced at her memory. She needed to get it out of her head, before her head got to her. It drove her beyond pain. Pain would be helpful here, just to take away the pain going on in her heart. 

_Let me out... Let me out, oh please just let me out! I don't know how long I will last down here. Throw me onto a battlefield and I would survive longer..._

Cursing herself for not looking around when she had snuck out to investigate, the captain stood up and kicked the rusty cell door, browned with age and creaky through lack of use. The metal clanged and shuddered, but the framework remained true to Salamandastron standards and held firm, not even budging an inch from it's fixture on the wall. It was too dark to find any other alternative way out, so Daleria could only continue trying to kick the door open, even if her actions were in vain. At least they kept her thoughts away from Clandestine, away from Rapieratce's words, away from Seppak, away from what had happened, and away from what could happen. 

* 

Muscles aching, Rapieratce sheathed his rapier as he strode silently out of the training hall, absent mindedly making his way up to the third floor where his dormitory was. He had just sent out the sentries for duty, given the plans for the next day, and completed all his many basic duties and orders. The sun had already set, dipping down below the horizon, and the last rays were now vanishing, throwing everything into a very dim atmosphere. The hares on lighting duty had already put up lamps all over the mountain, keeping the place well illuminated. 

He had barely even managed to concentrate on training that day, as his mind was so obviously elsewhere at the time. He had simply practised with his rapier, his paws doing the work rather than his mind, having been so well versed in his actions that he did it out of pure reflex rather than working. He was reflecting on what Consellariel had said, and what his conscience was telling him. He was also pondering on how long Daleria would possibly survive locked down in the damp and dark cellars. She needed only some time to reflect, but the things she would be reflecting on would no be at all pleasant. Her emotions might cause her to break down and send her into a fit again, and goodness knows what she might do if she did. She was in as much danger below as above, and the colonel was beginning to have second thoughts about whether listening to the lady's orders that time was such a good idea. Daleria was most definitely what he was most concerned about. His mind, however, was forcing his conscience to back off, telling him that he had to listen to Consellariel. 

Every was so confusing, and so immersed in his own thoughts was Rapieratce, that he did not even notice that his footpaws had brought him to his dormitory door at all. Setting his rapier, sheathe and all down on his table, completely oblivious to the paperwork he was meant to do, he went over to his bed and lay down deep in thought. 

_The rest of my day is free now, lest it be that Consellariel needs me again, which is doubtful. I had better make a reappearance down below, then. Mossflower knows what Daleria might have done to herself down there. She needs food too. The last thing one wants is a hare to starve down there due to neglect of food._

Shaking his head out of grimness, the colonel got up again and went down to the kitchens, grabbing a plateful of scones and a flask of water, then made his way downstairs. An awful racket met his ears. 

'Clang! Creak! Crack!' 

Not breaking his stride, the colonel lit a lamp that he had brought down with him, setting it onto a hook on the wall, and calmly stating to Daleria, who had chosen to ignore his presence by bashing the door twice as hard as before, venting her stress and anger on the unmoving steel cage. 

'Kindly do not try to break down the blinkin door, m'gel. It will not be getting you bally anywhere.' 

Giving the stubborn door one final, hard kick, Daleria stalked to the edge of the bunk in her cell, gazing in anger at the colonel before her. Her voice rose dangerously as she spoke. 

'Get me out of here, colonel! Why on Mossflower am I here in the first place? Let me out!' 

Rapieratce shook his head as he slipped the foodstuff under the bars of the cell, speaking softly but firmly. 

'You know I cannot do that, m'gel. It is beyond my power now. Only the Lady can say when you'll bally well get out of here. As for the blinkin reasons, it is simply for your own bally safe being, and you jolly well know it.' 

'What do you mean my safe being? There is a vermin army coming in no less than two more days up there with five hostages in their hands! And who is the cause of it? I am! So let me out and I can go out there and hopefully solve this problem.' 

'You know I cannot, wot. And you know that you jolly well also cannot get the blinkin key. I will talk to the bally Lady, but I cannot promise anything. Take the food, you'll bally well starve if you don't.' 

'I cannot eat, not at this time.' 

'You've always been the blinkin stubborn one, haven't you, captain?' 

'Yes, sah.' 

'Well, I cannot jolly well force the food down your throat, so if you do not want it, leave it.' 

With those words, the colonel simply turned and left, leaving Daleria in the relative dimness of the lamp light, which would go out soon enough. Daleria thought to herself, 

_Why on earth did he just walk out like that? Something must be going on here..._

_What on Mossflower was that rude colonel thinking, just walking out like that?! Does he even realized that he simply *threw* me into this dank cellar and left without a single word, and now he stalks away again as if I am a pest? Who does he think he is? He is nothing more than a cold hearted pest, that is what he is! The confounded hare deserves to be kicked off the mountain two hundred times into the sea to be fed to the hungry sharks right about now!_

Thinking incredibly furious thoughts, Daleria slammed her footpaw into the gate again, resulting in a clang that must have been loud enough to be heard on the third floor. Muttering angrily under her breath, the stared at the food for a second before taking it up and throwing it against the wall. She was not hungry. Simply and frankly irritated and angry at the colonel. If Daleria could get her hands on him now, Rapieratce would have been hanging on the top of the mountain being pushed off. Kicking the metal grate again, Daleria cursed under her breath again and searched for something to vent her anger on. There was nothing. Kicking in frustration and through pent up anger at the moss growing beneath her feet, something small, and untarnished silver, clinked out from the damp growth on the floor. Bending down curiously, Daleria examined the object carefully. After identifying it, she nearly dropped it back down again in shock. Steadying her paw instead, she scrambled madly up in a rushed flurry of moss, as if expecting the light from the lamp to go out at any time and leave her in the dark. 

_It cannot be! It is not possible, not by the stars, it cannot be!_

_*_

The colonel walked out of the cells, heavy hearted. 

_Why can't Daleria just see that I am not doing this to her out of spite? I only wish for her to be safe, nothing more._

He headed towards the forge to report to Consellariel on the positions of the vermin army as through the latest sentry updates, as well as ask for permission to inform Daleria's patrol about her current... Dilemma. 

_Daleria is most obviously not happy with you right now, 'Atce. First you threw her in, now you simply walk in, then go out again barely exchanging more than a hello. What is wrong with you? She is probably kicking the door again, no doubts._

As if on cue, a loud clang came from the cellars. Rapieratce winced as if in pain. Quickening his pace so as to get as far away from the cell where Daleria was, he thought. 

_There was nothing I could jolly well do! If I did talk bally long enough to her, no doubt my defence would slip, wot, and I would end up doing some blinkin impossible things! The captain has a blinkin way with words, and I have fallen for it too many bally times before! I cannot, I must not let the lady down again, lest I want to get myself blinkin well killed._

_You have already got yourself a meeting with death, 'Atce. You threw her into the cellars._

_So?! I was only doing my bally job! There was nothing I could do!_

_There is something you could do. You know where the lady keeps the keys..._

_NO! Absoballylutely NO! If I did that, not only would the blinkin captain kill me, the lady would be jolly well after my blood as well! By Mossflower, the thought is simply bally preposterous, by Mossflower!_

_You know the lady would never find out..._

_Yes she would! Why am I even blinkin talking to myself?!_

_Because you are not yourself now, 'Atce._

_Yes I am! I am just following orders! ORDERS! If I did not, then I would not blinkin well be here!_

_Orders are meant to be overruled._

_Orders are meant to be followed. Nothing more._

_Uprightness and orderliness cannot last forever. You need a mess to clean up, just as you need to see black before you know white._

_I cannot do anything!_

_Yes you can..._

_I am not in the blinkin position to do so! If I were, I would have already bally well done so! I cannot help anything, though I bally wish I could!_

Sighing in outright confusion and frustration, Rapieratce was nearly to the forge when a loud commotion behind him caused him to turn around abruptly and run towards the scene. 

_*_

_A key? THE key? Surely not?_

Tentatively, the surprised captain approached the door lock, inserting the key and twisting. With a near inaudible click, the door swung open at her feet, surprising her to no end. 

_What on Mossflower?_

Nearly not believing what had just happened, Daleria stepped out in surprise and blinked. The reality finally settled in, and she dashed out of the cell, tripping and stumbling, up the staircase, where she bumped into none other than Captain Joseph, who knew that she was supposed to be in the cellars. It resulted in a large squabble between the two, and raised voices attracted the attention of quite a few hares that were hanging around after training. 

'You should not be up here, captain!' 

'I should not be down there either, captain!' 

'You are a danger to yourself and to everyone else up here, Daleria!' 

'I am a danger to myself and to everyone else down there, Joseph!' 

'You cannot be serious! You are a fool to think that! How did you even get out?' 

'You cannot be serious! You are obstinate to think that! Why did I even get thrown in?' 

'The Lady Consellariel commanded it!' 

'I am not listening to the lady right about now!' 

'You have no right not to!' 

'You have no right to tell me not to!' 

'I cannot let you out of there, and you know it, captain!' 

'I will not let you get me in there, and you know it, captain!' 

Joseph lunged at Daleria, who nimbly side-stepped and sent a kick to his head, flooring him. The other captain got up, trying to trip her, but Daleria was quicker, and jumped up before his footpaw could get to her. But somehow Joseph's footpaw managed to hook onto her, sending her crashing down as well. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the colonel leapt in, prying Daleria off her fellow captain, while Longrunn, who was also nearby, grabbed at Joseph, who was nearly snarling in anger. The colonel signalled to the sergeant to take the captain elsewhere, while he fought with the furiously struggling captain, who was very near yelling in rage at him. 

'Let me go, Rapieratce! Right this instant!' 

'I cannot!' 

'Yes you can! Drop me at one!' 

'You know that I bally well cannot!' 

The captain decided that brute force was going to be the only way out, and managed to get the key to graze a long scratch across his shoulder, the tiny piece of metal dealing out surprising damage. The colonel reacted by kicking her footpaws away from beneath him, sending her crashing onto the floor. Lunging down, his head only got to make contact with her flying fist, while his footpaw sent her plummeting across the corridor into the wall. Taking advantage of her on the floor, he made a mad grab forward again, but Daleria rolled away, sending her footpaw connecting with his chest instead. That was her one mistake. The colonel managed to grab her footpaw before it made contact, swinging her across the floor with the momentum, while catching her paws with his other free hand, wrestling the key away from her and twisting them behind her back in brute force. 

'LET ME GO!' 

Not listening, he struck her across the face as she kneed him, earning a hurt glance. It was as good as Daleria stabbing him in the heart with his own rapier. Trying his very best to ignore her, he dragged her down again and flung her back in, slamming shut the grate and taking the spare key with him. 

_What on earth am I even doing? Slapping the captain?_

His annoying conscience put in sarcastically. 

_Your job._

Limping slightly, the colonel looked back at Daleria with pleading and to his own surprise, slightly _desperate _eyes, who also was home to several injuries herself. 

'Dale... Please, try to understand. I don't want to do this to you, honestly! Please, don't do this to me. You know that I did not want to do that, m'gel. I never wanted to do any flippin thing to you in the first place. Just try to understand, m'gel...' 

Daleria glared at Rapieratce with fiery hateful eyes, and near spat back at him. 

'I have nothing more to understand than you are an uncaring fool who doesn't know a single thing at all. Be gone, colonel. You disgust me.' 

With those words, Daleria stalked into the furthest corners of her cell, as far in the shadows as possible, leaving the colonel no choice but to back out of the cellars in retreat. 

Sighing heavily, Rapieratce limped slowly over to the infirmary, wishing dearly that that had never, ever happened. Daleria had hurt him considerably with her words. Entering, Taremin looked him over. 

'Not good, sah. A broken jaw, two split lips, long and rather deep gash across the shoulders. There's also two bruised ribs and a bruise on the back of your head. Daleria bashed you up rather well today, I see.' 

Groaning slightly at the ache in his head, he looked over at the other captain, who had calmed down considerably after Longrunn had taken him away. 

'What about you, Joseph?' 

Looking at the colonel, the battered captain answered. 

'Two bruises on the head, a sprained wrist and a strained muscle in the ankle.' 

Taremin glared at the two injured hares in her infirmary. 

'Two hares getting bashed up by one captain? I can barely believe it. You two are off training for the next day or so. The corridor floor is hard rock. I am going down to the cells to see to Daleria.' 

Moving out of the infirmary, Taremin went down to Daleria, who was still sitting away from the door, fuming silently in anger. Unlocking the cell door, entering then locking it again, Taremin struck flint and lighted up an oil lamp, illuminated the room. Daleria looked up, but made no other move aside from that. Taremin sighed again after looking the silent hare captain over. Shaking her head, Taremin knelt down beside her. 

'Will you ever stop getting injured, Dale?' 

'No.' 

'Obstinate as ever, I see. Looks like the four times you've bashed your head against the floor did not throw any more sense into you. Three head bruises, an open lip and a twisted wrist. You did it again, Dale.' 

'Thank you.' 

'How scathing. Let me bandage the wrist.' 

After wrapping the twisted wrist of Daleria's in a tight wrap, Taremin stood up with the lamp and took her leave. But before she walked up the stair well, she turned and told the captain, hoping that her piece of advise would counsel her well. 

'You know that the colonel could not do anything. He was only following commands. Rapieratce would never do anything to willingly hurt a fellow hare. You know it Dale. You cannot blame him. He is quite fond of you, you know. He is battling a loosing battle against himself right now. Spare him the pain. You cannot blame him.' 

* 

_Confounded conscience, go away!_

_No way._

_Why not?_

_Because you still have not sorted your mind out properly. Go talk to the lady. Maybe it would it help you slightly._

_There is nothing I can do._

_There is. There always it something you can do. You only have to find out what._

_I cannot._

_You have one more day, 'Atce. One. Single. Day._

Rapieratce finally made up his mind. Getting up, he slipped the key into his tunic pocket. Nobeast was going to find out about that one. Instead, he moved to the forge to talk to the Lady Consellariel, hoping that he could sway her into letting Daleria out. 

* 

'What are you talking about, colonel?' 

'I am only saying, marm, that Daleria needs to get out of the cells.' 

'You know that if I let her out, chaos will ensue. Look at yourself.' 

'I use myself only as an example. The gel is going insane down there. 

'She is not.' 

'The blinkin hare is crazy enough to maul both me and Captain Joseph after being flung to the floor numerous times. She is going crazy.' 

'She must not be let out.' 

'If we do not, she will get out herself.' 

'Let her try, colonel, she will never succeed.' 

'She is still a living hare, marm. She needs to stay sane.' 

'Your request is crazy, colonel. I forbid it.' 

'Daleria will not survive down there...' 

'She will. You shall see.' 

* 

_That infuriating hare!_

_Twice I would kill him, thrice I would maul him, four times I could chuck him off this mountain. He thinks that just because he is a colonel that he can do anything he wants to! I should have hit him harder. He must be insane, shoving me back in here again. I am going insane! I must get my mind off all of this._

_I must._

_I must._

_I must._

_I must._

_One day... Only one more day. One confounded, short day before Seppak's forces arrive, and I am stuck in here. The world is perfect._

* 

They had woken up at the brink of dawn, heads throbbing, and paws tightly bound by stiff rope behind their backs. The two gallopers, Cosenet and Willow, were in a very, very bad position. And they were not alone. Beside them were three others from a patrol, Silecy, Tehora and Mealiney, also captured by the vermin foxes not long ago. Willow shook her head, hoping to clear it of her dizziness, and looked around. They were smack in the middle of a vermin camp, and foxes were everywhere, silently going past, doing duties and such. They were most definitely not in a very good position to do anything at all. There were various sentries around, and the camp seemed to be very well run, not like the vermin armies that were usually scattered and disorganized. This was so surprisingly different, it was near scary. 

Willow was brought back to reality by a slight cough. Tehora was looking at her, almost idly. 

'I see one of the two have awoken. We are in a fix, aren't we, wot?' 

Nodding, Willow looked around again, 

'How long have you three been here?' 

'Not more than a day before you. We are stuck.' 

A groan from beside Willow signalled that Cosenet had woken as well. 

'What's going on?' 

Before any of the other four could answer, a midnight black fox with a sword and a scabbard strode into their little circle of hares, interrupting their little talk. Not even talking, he walked up to the unsuspecting galloper that had first reawaken, and kicked her hard in the ribs, sending her sprawling backwards onto the sands. There was an audible crack as his footpaw made contact against her, and a sharp scream echoed as three of Willow's ribs broke under the hard kick. The black fox snarled, 

'Silence is something that will save your life. But if you wish to die here and now, I welcome your request.' 

Willow whimpered, crawling pitifully and painfully back to her previous position, her lip bleeding. Every move sent a searing pain down her back bone, and the pain threatened to overwhelm her. The black fox turned to the rest and spoke again. 

'You know the one called Daleria, do you not?' 

Cosenet braved an answer, boldly and obviously rebelling. 

'So what if we do?' 

Snarling, the fox turned. 

'If you do, I promise you that you will tell me of her, even if I have to force it out of your bare throat, rabbit.' 

A glint in his eyes told all that what ever he had said, he meant. Still, Cosenet shut her mouth and talked not. The fox narrowed his eyes, and slowly withdrew his blade, grabbing Cosenet by the scruff of her neck and lifting her clear off the ground. 

'You will tell me, you insolent hare, unless you wish for pain beyond your wildest nightmares.' 

Cosenet still refused to talk, glaring at the black furred villain in front of her in silent spite and disgust. 

'Fine then.' 

A bright flash shined across her shoulder, and a slight scream sounded out from the very depth of her throat. The fox dropped her carelessly onto the sand, a long, deep gash leaking blood trailing from the top of her arm all the way down to her wrist was apparently going to drain her near to death, but not killing her. However, the blade had cut past a vital nerve in Cosenet's arm, which meant only one thing. Cosenet would painfully loose use her left arm completely, if she even survived the ordeal. Satisfied that he had punished her well enough, the black fox stalked away. 

So they had met Seppak the Cruel, black fox of the underworld, villainous beyond thought and cruel with intention. First blood had spilt.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Following

The sun had long set, and the hour was late, so late that the moon was already on it's downward path. The colonel tossed sleeplessly on his bed, unable to close his eyes. There was a concern at the back of his mind, refusing to go away, and troubling him to no end. It was there, inside his mind, telling him, whispering softly, urging him forward, as he saw the small, silver key on his table, glinting in the silver moonlight. The tiny piece of metal glinted maliciously in the moonlight, as if it held a power beyond imagination, and it did. It sat there like a pot of gold waiting to be claimed, but an inch out of reach. It was as if it were tempting him, willing him slowly forward to grab it and run down to the cells and let her out. 

Daleria. 

Mossflower knows what she must be thinking then. Rapieratce knew that she now hated him with all her heart, spitefully and without remorse. Not that he could blame her. Who wouldn't hate anybeast who hurt then threw you into a prison cell two times in a row? Running a paw through his ears, the vexed colonel turned over again, still unable to sleep, partially because of his current dilemma and partially because his ribs were still sore and felt extremely uncomfortable. Sighing, he turned again, trying to force his eyes close to no avail. Finally breaking, he grabbed a tunic, threw it on and went out quietly to think. Rapieratce did not even give second thought to that he was breaking another rule by doing this. Ever since Daleria had, how would one put it, influenced him, Rapieratce had laxed up a bit, not too visibly, but still... Trying to clear his mind as he approached the same balcony that he had found Daleria on a few weeks back, the colonel desperately tried to make up his mind. 

_To let her go or not to let her go... That is the question... (A/N: I succumbed to Shakespeare...) You know what you have to do, 'Atce._

_Oh for the sake of Mossflower! Go away, you annoying conscience!_

_Daleria needs to get out of there, 'Atce. You know it. The captain will go insane if she does not. There is already too much on her mind._

_She will cool off soon enough._

_You try to lie to yourself, 'Atce. Never try to lie to yourself._

_Sometimes a beast must._

_Sometimes a beast must not._

_The lady will not allow it. I would be leading her to her death. I cannot. By Mossflower, it would kill her!_

_It would kill her to leave her like that. And furthermore, it would kill you._

_What do you mean?_

_You know what I mean. You are growing fond of the captain, aren't you?_

_What on Mossflower?! Me? Fond of Daleria? If my conscience can think thoughts like that, I must be going insane._

_Don't try to deny it, 'Atce._

_Can we concentrate on the bally main problem here?!_

_Certainly. Back to the topic, she won't survive down in the cellars._

_I know! That's the bally blinkin problem! Either way, she won't survive!_

_There is always a way, 'Atce._

The sea lapped onto the shore, oblivious to the torment the hare colonel was going through. Sitting on the soft moss, Rapieratce surveyed the scene before him. The area was calm, only a slight chilly breeze and the water affected the peace. The moon shone at a crescent, layering the scene in a brush of transparency, making the whole vision appear like liquid silver before his eyes. Eyeing everything, Rapieratce took the opportunity to sit back and think without anybeast interrupting him for orders for once. In fact, the colonel was so busy thinking, that he never noticed a slight shadow in the corner, coming up from the second floor and sneaking towards his own dormitory. 

* 

Sergeant Longrunn knew that the colonel had the key. He had seen him take it himself, just as he pulled the half crazed Joseph away from the scene. Longrunn knew that he would never give the key to Consellariel unless the lady forced him to, as Rapieratce would always fall into consideration about matters such as this. It was the colonel's weak point, and Longrunn was using it to his advantage. The sergeant knew that Daleria would not last down there, and aimed to get her out at all costs, even this. There was no way that he was leaving his superior in that condition. At least if he got her out, maybe he could convince her not to go and risk everything. Even if he couldn't, at least Daleria's mind would be slightly more at rest, and not intent on going off the edge and into partial insanity down there. 

Creeping out of his own dormitory on the second floor, the sergeant had moved up the staircase as silently as possible, intent on not being found out. When he got to the top however, he nearly fell back down again in surprise. Did his eyes deceive him, or was that Rapieratce sitting out on the third floor balcony? Surely the colonel had not broken a rule and decided to come out for no reason?! 

_This night is getting odder and odder by the blinkin second!_

Choosing not to disturb the colonel, Longrunn cast his confusion to the back of his mind, creeping past the other hare in silent hope that the usually observant colonel was preoccupied at that time. The sergeant was in luck, and he managed to sneak past Rapieratce without the other even looking up. Breathing a mental sigh of relief, Longrunn quickened his pace over to the colonel's dormitory, taking a left, then a right, going straight all the way to the other end of the long corridor. Quietly sliding the door open and slipping inside, the sergeant began to look around for the key. After opening a drawer or two, he managed to spot the small key on the table top, and grabbed it and shoved it into his pocket. Making sure that everything was in order and hoping that Rapieratce did not notice that anything had been moved, Longrunn crept out again, but froze in his tracks just as he cleared the first turn. 

The give away sound of paws pattering across the rock floor stalled him, and the sergeant stood stalk still, fear coursing through his veins. It was obviously the colonel, no other hare would be up at this odd hour in the dead of the night. There was not escape, he corridor was narrow, and the path behind him was a dead end save for the colonel's dormitory. One way or another, he would be found out, and trouble was undoubtedly coming his way. All the sergeant could do was think up as feasible a reason as possible, hoping it would pass as an explanation as to why he was there. But Longrunn knew it would not work. All he could do now was try to be as unnoticeable as he could be and hope with all his heart that Rapieratce was _really_ occupied that night. 

Holding his breath and pressing his back into the wall, Longrunn tried to fade into the shadows as much as possible. It was virtually impossible, though, due to the fact that the rock wall was completely bare and there was nothing around that he could possibly use to his advantage. Silently praying that Rapieratce would simply walk by and not notice him at all, he held his breath but mentally cursed himself. Of course the colonel would not simply walk past! If he weren't one of the most observant and attentive hare on the mountain when it came to details such as this, Longrunn did not know what he was. And even if he did walk by, the absence of the key was most obviously going to spark suspicion like a bright blinking flare light in the middle of a black hole. Rapieratce was most definitely going to find him out one way or another tonight. 

Waiting as the seconds passed agonizingly slowly, Longrunn watched as a shadow emerged from the turn in the corridor, and the colonel came into view. Pressing as far back into the shadows as possible, Longrunn placed the key in a death grip as he inched slowly, bit by bit into the opposite direction as Rapieratce's dormitory. The colonel passed him, to his immese relief. But just as he was about to take the turn and run, home free, a tired voice hit him from behind like a tidal wave. 

'Give me back the key, Sergeant.' 

_That's it. I am bally well dead._

Stepping out of the shadows cautiously, the sergeant walked forward towards the colonel. Feigning innocence, Longrunn decided to play the fool and evade the questioning as much as possible, feverishly praying he would get out of this mess with fur still on his back after the colonel was done with him. Grasping the key in a death grip, Longrunn put his paw behind his back and asked, 

'Key, colonel? What key? I have not seen any key.' 

Turning and staring intently at the sergeant with almost cloudy green eyes, which clearly displayed how stressed and frustrated he had been the past few days. Rapieratce just stood there expectantly. Only now did Longrunn notice how much so did the colonel's step was not as light as it usually was, and his normally straight back was bent in weariness as if a heavy load were placed on him. His features were nearly hollow, and his voice held strain and a sense of tiredness. Rapieratce's long ears were folded back slightly instead of half tipped as when he was usually aloof and less burdened. There were marks on his shoulder from having his weapon strapped on for such long periods of time during training, clearly showing how strained he had been over the past few days. As durable as Rapieratce was, the past few days of shouting out orders and heading prolonged training sessions, along with the number of scraps he had been going through, both mentally and physically, were now taking their grievous toll on the hare. After a while, the colonel grew tired of the game of watching and talked out loud. 

'Yes the bally flippin key. I know you have it the blinkin thing, sergeant. Do not make matters any more difficult as they already are.' 

Sheepishly removing his hand, the sergeant did not give up without a fight. 

'Sah... She won't last. You and I both know it.' 

Leaning against the wall and stretching his long frame against it, the colonel leaned against the solid support tiredly. Putting his head against the cold stone, Rapieratce answered, 

'Do you think I want to leave her down in that bally stinkin place, sergeant?' 

Keeping quiet, Longrunn did not answer. Rapieratce went on. 

'I never wanted to. But I had to. If I did not, the lady...' 

Rapieratce's voice was changing as well. He was so tired, he had almost lost his usual way of talking, half of his slang had faded away. Probably under the influence of the way that Daleria talked, but it was also to blame to the stress he was under. Longrunn quietly put in. 

'You can change that, sah. You can get her out.' 

Rapieratce shook his head. 

'I know I can. But at the same time I cannot. By Mossflower, if it weren't going in two directions, I would have got her out of there a blinkin long time ago. I would not even have bally well put her in there in the first place. But there is too much to loose either way. I can't do that to the captain. It would kill me.' 

Silently, the sergeant walked up and placed the key in the colonel's paw. 

'It is up to you, sah.' 

Rapieratce shut his eyes. 

'Why must it always be me? Just because I am the hare that gives out the blinkin orders. Just because I am the flippin highest ranking officer. But why?' 

Longrunn looked at the colonel again, pitying him. Shaking his head, Longrunn countered again, trying to get Rapieratce to see more sense in the matter.. 

'Yet you will not let anybeast give you pity.' 

'Pity will not help in this sort of situation, sergeant.' 

'Help is something that anybeast needs and should accept. Pity is the starting point of help. Everybeast needs a little bit of help to survive, independent or not.' 

'Help? This matter is beyond help already, sergeant. The only bally thing that will help right now is probably Daleria. But I cannot move her away from her position.' 

'Stop denying that you cannot, Rapieratce. You know you can.' 

'I have the key, but I have not the blinkin right to do so.' 

'Sometimes you have to push you rights in order to do what is right.' 

'My blinkin rights cannot be pushed right now.' 

'Yes they can.' 

'Everything is telling me the bally same thing. Only that I cannot risk the life of Daleria.' 

'Every second you let her stay down there is endangering her life, sah.' 

'Maybe we should talk to her.' 

'Yes indeed. Maybe we should.' 

Forcing himself to stand upright, Rapieratce turned and moved towards the cells, Longrunn in his shadow. Silently trailing downwards, they passed the officers dorms, the recruits dorms, the kitchens then finally made it down the main hallway. Padding noiselessly down the stairs, they got to the cells undetected. 

Moving to where Daleria was kept, the colonel struck the lamp that was hanging on the wall, illuminating the cellars again in a dim light. Looking through the bars, however, both hares panicked at the sight that lay spread out before them. The sergeant was already rushing up the staircase in a matter of seconds. Rapieratce thought to himself while fumbling in his hurry to unlock the doors, jamming the key into the hole. 

_Not again! Not now, not her, not this same situation! Why her, for the sake of Mossflower, spare her from this! And spare me!_

Flinging open the door, Rapieratce gathered up the shaking and twitching hare captain in his paws for the third time in the past months. Another hallucination had struck, and at the worst possible time. Daleria's wrist was once again bent, the bandage having come loose and the wrist had twisted even more, which must have been hurt horribly. Taremin would be able to patch her up, no problem there, but in addition to that, Daleria had successfully rammed her head again, which would prove hard to get her out of the hallucination. Hoping once again for the hundredth time that Daleria would live through the blood loss she was going through, Rapieratce scrambled up the staircase in his hurry to the infirmary. 

The torment of Seppak worked past the barriers of land, and even physical boundaries could be broken. The cut that Daleria had attained on that night was poisoned. And it was too late to work it out of her bloodstream. The only thing they could do was wait for the hallucination poison to fade off at it own accord. Not deadly, but dangerous in its own way. It had all been planned. Daleria would not live, one way or another. The only cure was in Seppak's hands, and virtually impossible to attain without attempting suicide, plunging into such danger. Seppak the Black was striking with deadly force. 

* 

Rapieratce had barely slept. If he had, he did not think he did for more than an hour or two. The very thought of what he had done, however indirectly, to Daleria was there tormenting him. He could not forgive himself. The colonel was was waiting in the infirmary, hoping dearly that Daleria would wake up from her slumber. The hallucinations had seemed to stop, so had the twitching, but the hare captain had not reawakened yet, to his servere distress. It was getting him severely worried. It was almost dawn already, and the colonel knew that he was going to have to report to Consellariel soon. He could not evade it forever. He and the sergeant had got Taremin to wake up, but no other beast had been stirred. He and Longrunn had decided to keep the matter as quiet as possible. Everything was already overly sensitive, and matters were going overboard. Instead, Rapieratce and the sergeant had settled for waiting in the infirmary for Daleria to waken, which seemed as if it were not going to happen any time in the near future. The sergeant himself was in sleep, leaning his head in a paw that was rested on his chair. 

Getting up, tired as he was, Rapieratce left the sergeant on his own and made his way to the badger lady's quarters on the fourth floor, dreading the conversation that was to come. All around him, everybeast on the mountain was reawakening in anticipation, as the fox horde were only one, single day away from the mountain. Everybeast was arming up, but Rapieratce was starting to doubt if he would even be able to lift his rapier that day, so tired was he. Shutting his eyes for a split second, he forced himself to walk faster. The days were getting agonizingly long and tiring of late, to nobeasts surprise. There was a limit as to how long the colonel was going to survive, and he was already being worn down under the load that had been placed on his back. Just as he was on the second floor, his conscience came back full force. The annoying chatter at the back of his mind was starting to feel like some sort of a plague following him wherever he went, and Rapieratce had to stop himself from groaning out loud in frustration. 

_What now, for crying out loud?!_

_I toooolllddddd you to get her out before._

_I thought this bally matter was blinkin behind me now?_

_Not a chance, 'Atce. Did you really think that your own conscience would let you off that easily?_

_I think I should have known better._

_Of course you should have._

_Leave me alone!_

_Not one chance. You need to understand._

_I already do._

_In a way, yes, but you are seeing things through your militaristic point of view right now, 'Atce. What ever happened to your compassion?_

_You should know. You're the bally blinkin conscience here, not me._

_You are the hare here, not me._

_Argh. Compassion? I suppose it flew out the window the same time that Consellariel's did._

_Consellariel. The root of the problem here, no?_

_In a strange, odd blinkingly confusing bally way, yes._

_Consellariel is under worse conditions than you, and you know it, 'Atce._

_I suppose I do._

_You are not showing it. You should help her._

_The badger lady? Accept help? That would be the flippin day._

_Do not try and predict others, 'Atce. Consellariel needs some right about now._

_Pride will not let any blinkin help through right now._

_Isn't that more on your own side?_

_What do you mean?_

_Pride, 'Atce, pride. You are letting it get in the way as well._

_Do not go there._

_There you go again. Denying the facts. Face it, 'Atce, eat the pride. Or is it only pride at work here?_

_What are you trying to imply?_

_Personal emotions, perhaps? Mayhap that is what is plauging you, no?_

_Never! I would not let it. The idea in itself is impossible._

_But is it now? You know that you favour the captain..._

_That idea is an even more insane one, if possible._

_You keep on trying to deny it, 'Atce. Not a very good idea. You cannot hide from yourself._

_Maybe only a little... But that does not imply anything._

_There you go again._

_I only favour her. Nothing more._

_But favouring is something... You know what it leads to..._   


Thankfully, Rapieratce made it to Consellariel's quarters just in time to make his annoying conscience go 'pop' and disappear into sweet oblivion, or wherever disturbing voices in one's head temporarily disappear to. Knocking loudly, he was answered with a quiet 'enter', then strode in silently, coming to attention in front of Consellariel. She was seated at her table, studying some map and jotting down some plans of or something in that manner. The badger lady raised an eyebrow at him from her sitting position at her table and asked, 

'At ease, colonel. What brings you here so early in the morning?' 

'The captain, m'lady.' 

'I thought we had gone over this matter already, colonel?' 

'Not that, marm. She got another bally hallucination attack last night. I found her in the cells. She was not in very good shape.' 

Immediately listening intently, Consellariel sat there hearing the colonel out as he went on a full scale explanation on what happened last night, conveniently leaving out the parts about the key, simply stating that Longrunn had coincidentally been awake at the same time as he, and giving a shady cover up on why he was even there in the first place. Finally finishing, the badger lady then questioned him again. 

'Where is she now?' 

'In the infirmary with the sergeant, marm.' 

'Very well, dismissed. Get the rest of her patrol informed. I will come down in a while.' 

Giving a quick salute, Rapieratce swirled around and headed for the door, wearily heading to the second and first floor dorms to break the bad news to Daleria's patrol, who were all probably getting sick at the amount of injuries that their patrol leader was getting. Moving quickly, Rapieratce managed to take a quick peep out of one of the sentry windows. What he saw nearly froze his blood. The first signs of the vermin were breaking in the horizon like a black wave. 

_Those scum have very, very bad timing._

_I should say so._

_For my blinkin conscience, you are bally well annoyingly irritating, even by my standards._

_I am your conscience, so live with it, 'Atce._

Nearly panicking at the prospect of the vermin breaking onto Salamandastron earlier than proposed, Rapieratce quickly issued orders for double sentry, asked for word to be sent around the mountain informing of the vermin's current position and then scuttled to hurriedly inform the rest of Daleria's patrol, eager to head back to the infirmary, in order to make sure that if Daleria had awoken that she was not going to take a step out the mountain. He might not be going to throw her into the cellars again, but he was not going to let her risk her life by trying to run away again. Gritting his teeth in determination, Rapieratce tried pushing his weariness away, and tried to go about his duties as steadfast as he could. 

Rapieratce half walked, half ran to the infirmary, barging in just in time to see Daleria wake up with a major headache and a lot of groaning. The hare captain was trying to sit up straight, but was being pushed back into the bed by a sergeant that looked severely irritated. It was quite a comical scene, Longrunn trying to push Daleria back into bed in the midst of a couple of flying white sheets and a lot of insulting refusals on Daleria's part. The sergeant was still desperately trying to reason with the hare captain that she was still injured when Rapieratce walked up, coughed, and tapped him on the shoulder. Both hares froze at the sight of the colonel, though their reactions were almost contradicting each other. Daleria fell limp back into her bed, crossing her arms and turning her head away from him, whereas the sergeant was a little bit more, respectful, and stood up to take his leave after Rapieratce signalled for him to leave the infirmary. It was not that he wanted to, but Rapieratce was still the colonel, so there was nothing he could do but leave the odd silence of the infirmary behind. 

Dragging out a chair and seating himself down, leaning back and crossing his arms as well, the colonel locked eyes with the captain, both hares trying to figure out what the other was thinking. From Rapieratce's point of view, it was clear to see that rebellion was shining like a bright beacon in Daleria's raven eyes, and he caught a fiery glint of hate spark out of nowhere, though not surprisingly. Resentment was seething off the captain like warmth off the sun, and anybeast could practically feel it flowing off her. The colonel only felt even more guilty than before, seeing her acting like that. From Daleria's point of view, Rapieratce was only making things even more irritating and aggravating by looking at her that way. No matter how hard she tried, it seemed as if the colonel's green eyes were some kind of twin infinite pools of dark emerald that were simply impossible to read. Trying to read what went on in his head was like trying to read invisible ink. Annoyingly difficult unless you knew how. There did not seem to be a way to understand his eyes, though. All you saw were impassive green orbs looking straight back at you. One could tell so much, yet so little from them. Trying to scrutinize whatever she saw, Daleria detected an obvious hint of weariness and tire. That was most definitely not a good sign. Rapieratce? Tired? And showing it? That was something that Daleria had most definitely not seen ever before. No matter how fatigued the colonel had been, Daleria had never, ever, ever seen him show it. Was he that tired? The first hints of her conscience started talking as she thought to herself.   


_Make it known to yourself that he's probably been awake for too long, Daleria. Think how much sleep could he possibly have got in the past few nights, after all this had happened?_

_He threw me into the cells without second thought. Why wouldn't he have got sleep?_

_Do you actually believe it when you think that Rapieratce of all hares would throw a beast into a cell and walk out without feeling bad about it? Look at him, Daleria!_

_He. Threw. Me. In. End. Story._

_No, it is not. Who do you think got you here? You flew?_

_Of course not!_

_It was the colonel, you fool!_

_Was it, now?_

_He has been strained for longer than you think, Daleria. A life of a colonel is not as free and easy as your own._

_My own is not the most free and easy life I have ever encountered._

_Self pity never got anybeast anywhere._

_You have to admit that it is true._

_Maybe so, but you still have to see things through his point of view. Life has not been easy for him either._

_He is a colonel. He was trained for this._

_Nobeast can train for life, Daleria. Consider Taremin's words from the other night._

_What on Mossflower?_

_Rapieratce is fond of you, you know. And you are too..._

_What?! Me? Fond of him? Insane!_

_You know that it is true, that little spark._

_Crazy. I must be going mad._

Before Daleria could continue her own contemplation, Rapieratce's voice cut a path through her thoughts, startling her out of her reverie with his voice. 

'The vermin hordes have been spotted on the horizon.' 

_WHAT?_

Immediately, Daleria made a move to stand, but Rapieratce put up a paw, and his voice was grim and level, the soleme tone alone making her stop and listen to what he was going to say. Daleria had never seen this side of Rapieratce before, and she did not know if it surprised or alarmed her, maybe both. Daleria was amazed on how much he had changed in such as short period of time. Mayhap he was under more stress than she thought. 

'You are not going anywhere, captain. The risk is too bally well great for you.' 

Gritting her teeth half out of irritation and half out of outright frustration and anger, Daleria narrowed her eyes and retorted back, 

'Risk has never stopped me, _sah_.' 

The way she address Rapieratce was like an insult, which only proved in worsening their situation. Rapieratce tensed considerably, and heaved a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples and trying to destress as much as possible. It seemed as if he was taking this quarrel with the stubborn captain in front of him quite badly this time around. Still trying to retain his calm composure, he responded as evenly as he possibly could. 

'If you are going anywhere, _captain_, I am going to follow you.' 

Daleria nearly fell off the bed when she heard what he said, part of her refusing to believe that the colonel had even said it in the first place. Looking at him in shock, she asked, 

'What did you say, colonel? Follow me? What on Mossflower do you mean?' 

Still staring at her evenly, Rapieratce went on in the same, annoyingly even tone and voice. 

'You know what I mean, captain. I am following you if you even take a single blinkin step out of this mountain. You are not going bally well anywhere without me now. Orders as I have been given. Not directly as such, but it still applies. So learn to live with it, m'gel.' 


	7. It sinks deeper

::It Get's Thicker..:: 

A/n: Hope you guys are HAPPY! Another big chunck of edited stuff. 

* 

If there was one thing that could describe Daleria's expression right then, it would only take four simple words. Totally, crazily, madly hilarious. If it could, her jaw would have fallen down ten meters under the ground. She was staring in blank undisguised shock at Rapieratce, who could not help but chuckle at the highly... _Amusing_ look that had been imprinted on her face. Sitting back totally at ease, arms folded and eyebrow quirked, he watched, amused, as Daleria began to try to speak out loud, only resulting in a few spluttering noises as she looked at Rapieratce hysterically as if he was insane, which was partially true. If not for self control, Rapieratce would have been rolling on the floor in laughter. The colonel had, never, ever seen such as half enraged half disbelieving part of the hare captain, and he found it extremely comical, as the look on his face clearly stated, which only helped in infuriating Daleria up another notch. Rapieratce swore that if he did not laugh he was going to turn purple right then. Finally, after a few moments of rather amusing silence, Daleria managed to get a legible word out of her agape mouth, still staring at the colonel as if he were mad. Rapieratce was looking relaxed for the first time in a long while, though, as if a burdern was being lifted off his back. 

'_WHAT?_' 

Chuckling slightly, which was starting to drive Daleria up the wall, the colonel went on to try to further infuriate her by replying in a increasingly annoying steady tone. Dalerai did not seem to care that it was merely his temperment at work. When he irritated her, he irritated her. 

'I know that you bally well heard me, captain. I am going to follow you. Surely you understand the meaning of that? Or need you take further classes in language?' 

Daleria had to restrain the rather strong urge to stand up and strangle Rapieratce's still smiling face off his neck. Struggling to sit up, she shot back at him. 

'Of course I do, colonel. And yes, I do understand that you are going to follow me. But why on Mossflower?' 

This only seemed to amuse Rapieratce even more, for some odd reason that Daleria could not possibly fathom. He seemed to think it very funny that he and Daleria were on such casual terms that she was going to the point of trying to attempt murder on him. Laughing softly, he sat back and simply looked at her, not even attempting to answer her question, which was starting to really, really annoy her. Really. After watching her for another few moments in silent laughter, he went on. 

'So are you bally well simply going to sit there and gape at me, captain? And do you think you could ask the sergeant to stop hiding behind the infirmary door and come out along with the rest of your patrol?' 

Daleria's train of sight shot from the amused colonel to Longrunn, who had emerged from behind the infirmary door and was staring at the colonel's back, as stunned as Daleria was that he even knew that he was there in the first place. Longrunn would have it thought that nobeast had known they were there. The rest of her patrol sheepishly revealed themselves one by one, and Rapieratce had to resist the urge to simply howl with laughter at the very situation. The situation to him was very amusing, it seemed. Not to Daleria, though. She looked ready to throttle the first beast that came into attacking range once she got out of the massive tangle of white sheets that were currently the only restraint from her and the chuckling colonel, who was, according to her, in serious trouble once she was out of there. Rapieratce had better hope that his running skills were fast. Daleria was already formulating a plan on cornering him and throttling him in some dark corner where nobeast would notice. Longrunn was still standing, struck dumb, not knowing where to go from there, simply looking from Daleria to the colonel and back again. The colonel went on to irritate them even more by asking in a annoyingly smooth voice, 

'Have all of you chaps lost your voices or something? One of you respond, for crying out loud!' 

Giving up on speaking, Longrunn had decided to cover up by going off to drag a few chairs over, leaving Daleria and the rest of her patrol at the colonel's mercy. Fleetpaw was shaking her head in confusion, while Lieutenant Dallaw was trying himself not to laugh out loud at both his commanding officers actions, and stood aside to avoid falling into the death list of Daleria's. Rapieratce spoke again. 

'So, are you going to be bringing this lot along with you?' 

Rapieratce lightly tilted his head to the group that was still standing behind him. Daleria managed to get out something that sounded relatively like "Surely he has gone mad" or something in that manner before properly raising her voice and answering. 

'I suppose that I have no choice now, do I, colonel?' 

Shaking his head, Rapieratce was still desperately trying to contain his laughter, which was threatening to boil over right then. 

'No, I do not suppose you do. So when will you be leaving?' 

'What makes you even sure that I will be, sah?' 

At this, Rapieratce could hold in back no more, and laughed out loud, though quietly as not to disturb the others in the infirmary. It took him quite some time to get his laughter under control, and by then Daleria looked furious enough to do more than murder. Shaking in silent laughter at the captains indignant voice in the background that seemed to be objecting to him laughing, Rapieratce took quite some time to compose himself fully before putting in, 

'You? Not leave the mountain at a blinkin time like this? Surely you joke, captain? If I know you, you would not stay in this mountain unless we chain you to it, as recent events have clearly shown.' 

Trembling in laughter, the colonel had to forcefully choke back a few more bouts of laughter before finally managing to fully compose himself enough to listen to Daleria's say. 

'I suppose that you are right, sah, but is there really a need to burst out laughing in front of everybeast?' 

'No, I suppose that there is not. But this situation is way to funny to pass without laughter.' 

'I do not find it very amusing, sah.' 

'Do you, know?' 

Daleria was once again restraining herself from going there and chopping his head clean off. Fine, there was that minor detail that she did not have her sabre with her at the moment, but Rapieratce's rapier would do if it came close enough to paw. 

'No, I do not. I suppose, then, that I will be leaving as soon as those filthy foxes come close enough, if I manage to get past you and Consellariel.' 

Feigning comical innocence, Rapieratce pointed to himself. 

'Me, captain? Why would I stop you?' 

'Stop trying to be funny, 'Atce, you are only helping in increasing the urge for me to murder you.' 

'I am sure that you shall be able to manage that, captain.' 

'When I get my hands on you...' 

'I feel scared, captain, very much so.' 

Daleria really, really wanted to chuck him off the mountain right then. It was astoundingly annoying at how Rapieratce managed to remain completely dignified while joking at her in the most annoying and persistantly controlled manner. Instead, she settled for asking him even more questions. 

'You will not be stopping me, then?' 

'Stopping you? I am joining you m'gel.' 

'The lady will not be happy.' 

'I know.' 

'She will stop me, if nobeast else will.' 

'We will just have to bally well not let her, then.' 

Sinking backwards into her pillow in silent disbelief for the second time that day, Daleria looked up into the green eyes of the colonel, and saw in complete shock that he was completely serious. There was no laughter in them, and anybeast could tell that he meant what he said. It was also as if the rest of the room had simply frozen completely. Nobeast was moving, and the rest of Daleria's patrol had turned and were all staring at Rapieratce with their mouths agape. 

_This is most difinitely not the Rapieratce I know. He would never, ever, not in Mossflower ever say what I think he just said. Somebeast slap me._

All further disbelieving thoughts, however, were quickly put off by a sentence from his mouth that made her blood freeze. 

'Marm? So you are here. I had hoped it would not end this way.' 

_MARM? What on Mossflower? Consellariel? SHE is here? But! He cannot be serious!_

From out of the door, the massive frame of the badger lady could be seen entering the infirmary. Everything and everybeast really did freeze this time, and all the hares jumped to attention, aside from the captive Daleria. All, that is, except for Rapieratce, who instead got up slowly. Very slowly, as if contemplating something. It looked as if he was forcing himself out of the chair, pushing himself up with the chair's support. He kept his face deceptively calm to the untrained eye, but Daleria could clearly see strain and stress behind the mask that he was putting on. She had known him long enough, all right. But not long enough to anticipate what he was going to do next. To be truthful, nobeast in history could have foreseen what he would have done next, save for Consellariel, probably, who was also looking extremely grim. Things were not looking good. 

The badger lady signalled first for everybeast to resume their normal activities, then got a chair from Longrunn, who was still acting usher, and slowly sat down, on the opposite end of the bed, so that she was directly facing Rapieratce. Somehow, Daleria felt as if she was just about to be squashed smack dab in the middle of a extremely tense argument of some sort, no matter how rare it was for the two on either side of her to quarrel. She fought the urge to sink deeper into her pillows and hide. However, the electricity between the two was clearly depicting the calm before the storm, and something very, very big was brewing, and nothing was going to help evade it. Daleria felt it, and fear, for no reason, coursed through her veins, and she suddenly sensed dread settling over her. Her pulse quickened, be it for an unknown reason, and she kept darting anxious glances between the two. Something was most definitely not right. 

The badger lady's eyes were hard that day, a far call from the usual softness that usually accompanied her brown eyes. Her brow was slightly furrowed, and on her face was graveness that was stone cold. Consellariel was unusually tense, even in this kind of situation, and she looked very frustrated that day. Not a good sign. Rapieratce on the other hand, kept his look of calm about him, as he usually did, but if one looked deep enough into his green depths, there was unrest and turmoil blended in with a whirl of other unidentifiable emotions that seemed to be straining him greatly. He looked ready to announce something huge or some matter along that manner, and Daleria could feel that he was struggling with himself for self control. That worried her very much as well, since tense situations had to get _really_ intense to get the colonel reacting in that manner. One way or another, Daleria felt very trapped and very small in the middle of the two most important figures in the entire mountain. Swallowing, she waited for what was to come. 

* 

[Quick switch to Rapieratce's point of view] 

_Are you sure, 'Atce?_

_Why wouldn't I be?_

_This is insane. No single Long Patrol hare in history has ever even thought of doing what you are about to do._

_I know. I do not have very much to regret, however. I cannot tear myself between duty and self conscience any longer. Something has to be done, even be it at personal sacrifice._

_This is a pretty big personal sacrifice here, 'Atce, even by your standards._

_My standards do not rank very high._

_Yes they do. You would have never got as high up as you have if they weren't._

_If they were, I would not be in the position I am in right now._

_It would affect you greatly. Why are you even doing this in the first place? You could wait for the battle to blow over and get it without risking death._

_She would leave the mountain with or without it. I do not wish for her to get herself killed out of foolishness. The regret and guilt would be too great._

_Guilt and regret? It would not be your fault._

_Partially, it would, knowing that she would have done it and yet not stepping in the way._

_Meddlesome hare, aren't you._

_Sentimental purpose._

_Sentimental purpose? You hide it from yourself even now. Funny to realise it that a hare like yourself who would not flinch from a stabbing could be so foolishly cowardly when faced with a situation like this._

_As I said before. Sentimental purpose, nothing more._

_Sentiment purpose indeed. I do believe this kind of action falls quite accurately under the category._

_It does not._

_In your brain, no, in everybeast elses, yes. Why don't you have the bravery to simply admit it?_

_Bravery to admit something that is not true? You imply that you wish for me to lie?_

_You know that it is the truth, 'Atce. You deny it, refuse it, and evade it, yet you never want to consider it, even to your own conscience._

_With the amount of babbling my own conscience does at the back of my mind, I would have thought it would spew out all my personal details against my will, and thus the need to not consider and block it off. Release me from your captivity. I need you not._

_Oh, trying to use the seriousness against me, are you, 'Atce. Nice try, but no thanks. I'm a conscience that is fully dedicated into showing unbelievably blind people what the truth it. Face the facts 'Atce. You're not simply doing this for that reason that you stated. It's way too sacrifical on your part. Your motives run deeper than that, of this I am verily sure. You do not wise to lose her, do you? You think that if you get her out of this and survive yourself that you would have a chance, don't you? Do not say it's not true, 'Atce. Do not conceal from your heart what is your heart. You would find it useless. Can't you see that you are acting the fool?_

_I cannot seem to understand why myself. But maybe you are correct, up to a certain extent. But I fear that I would have to disappoint you by putting all these foolish affairs down once everything has blown over and I have more time to sort out details and correct wayward consciences that are set in misleading my currently foggy mindset and heart._

[Back to Third Person point of view] 

Rapieratce looked intently at Consellariel for a few moments, and the two simply sat there for a few moments before he finally broke the silence. 

'Marm. You know what is bally well already going on.' 

Consellariel looked slightly startled that he had reacted as soon as he did. If he was going to do what she thought he was going to do, the badger lady would have thought that he would have drawn it out more. Much more. Yes, she would have expected him to contemplate over the matter for a much longer perioud than that, and it surprised her slightly. Concealing it, though, she went on with a answer. 

'I do, though at first I did not want to believe that it was for real.' 

'The flippin' evidence is already overwhelming, marm.' 

'Very much so, Rapieratce. You and I both know that this will not end up as a happy ending.' 

'Nothing really ever does, marm.' 

Daleria was now officially confused. Ending? What ending? 

What on Mossflower is that crazy colonel talking about? 

Consellariel went on, unfazed at Rapieratce's frank commentary. 

'No, it does not, does it? But this ending is unlike most others in itself already.' 

'Sometimes, endings do not bally well go the blinkin way that you would rather them to, marm.' 

'Even by that, this is absurd.' 

'No, marm. I do not think of it that way, at least.' 

Consellariel stared again, the silence going on for another few uncomfortable moments. Daleria swore that one of the two would eventually simply get up and maul the other, at the rate that they were going. Finally, the lady moved on. 

'You have greatly changed these few seasons, Rapieratce. I barely know you anymore.' 

'I barely know myself anymore, marm.' 

'What do you mean?' 

'Recent events have already held their positions in my life, marm. Things change, with or against our wills.' 

Rapieratce had already begun to regret mentioning that sentence half a second after saying it. His conscience was creating a celebratory fanfare at he back of his mind already, and the thought he felt Daleria jerk slightly on the bed. He cursed himself repeatedly before bringing his attention back to Consellariel. 

'But everybeast has control over what they become.' 

'Sometimes a beast must end up doing something... Off the beaten track to save something else.' 

'She cannot leave without it, then?' 

'She could not even survive, marm. You already know that.' 

'So you decided that since you knew that I would never accept your... Proposal... that it would boil down to this?' 

'Yes, marm.' 

'So this is your decision? You know that if you do this that when you return, if you ever do, that I will not simply just accept you to your former position?' 

'I fully know that, marm.' 

'You are willing to sacrifice that?' 

'It is better than sacrificing another beast's life.' 

Consellariel shook her head sadly at him. 

'Even if you do manage to get yourself out of it, you know that you will be starting at the bottom, unless somebeast manages to somehow sway my decision?' 

'You decision is not easily swayed, marm.' 

'And yet you still want to?' 

'Yes.' 

'Working from the bottom is never easy, Rapieratce.' 

'It never was.' 

'You should know, then?' 

'I got where I was through it.' 

'And you are willing to do it all over again from scratch?' 

'If it saves the situation, yes.' 

'It would be sad to lose a hare like yourself.' 

'It must be done.' 

Nodding to the badger lady, Rapieratce got up shortly. The lady did not move. No other beast had caught on to what they were saying. None, that is, save for Longrunn. The sergeant immediately moved by and blocked the passage out the infirmary from Rapieratce. In a hushed but fierce voice, he muttered to the colonel. 

'You cannot be serious, sah! Nobeast has ever done something this insane!' 

'Move, sergeant.' 

'You know that I would not let you, sah. Daleria would be furious if she knew what you are going to do! It would kill her to know that another... Friend.. would have possibly perished due to her!' 

Sighing, Rapieratce had to force the stubborn Longrunn away from the door, but the sergeant's last sentence struck him rather hard. Would he truly affect Daleria that badly? She had gone through enough, and he knew it, but surely Daleria could not and would not think of it like he was commiting suicide? He was, most definitely, doing something rather risky, but it had to be said that Rapieratce had a good chance if anybeast had at this kind of operation. He was the colonel, after all. Daleria looked extremely confused at them, while Longrunn could only watch in pained distress as Rapieratce walked to his dormitory. The colonel reappeared soon enough, carrying something long and slim. Daleria gasped when she saw it. 

_He is not! This is madness! He can't just leave m-._

Daleria check her thoughts, thinking incredulously why she had just thought something like that in the first place. Her conscience came back not a second after. 

_See! You are beginning to accept it already! Face it! You lo-._

Daleria delievered her mental alter dimensionate self a hard punch and shut it up. She refused to admit it, and turned instead to the on going scene. She could not, though, help but feel her conscience may just have been slightly correct... Daleria nearly felt like slapping herself for that, and so went to completely delve herself back into the going on. 

Carrying his sheath, Rapieratce walked up to Consellariel and laid it onto her paw. Daleria could not keep quiet any longer. 

''Atce! What on Mossflower are you doing?' 

Paying her no heed, Rapieratce looked up at Consellariel. 

'Would it be possible for me to reclaim it if I manage to make it back, marm?' 

Looking down at him, she answered. 

'I cannot promise you anything, Rapieratce.' 

The colonel looked torn. His blade was... Turning silently, he looked down at Daleria, quietly muttering to her. 

'You cannot battle, not while you are in this condition. I am going to try to attain the cure. I cannot promise you anything. I am no longer your commanding officer, Dale. I had to do it. I could not leave if I did not. If I ever even possibly return, maybe I would be able to work my way up, but I do not know. It is highly impossible.' 

Daleria paled. 

'You cannot survive weaponless! You have had that rapier with you... Longer than I care to even remember! That thing is probably older than me!' 

Sighing, he shook his head grimly. 

'It is, m'gel. I have a spare, one not as strong and not badger forged, something my old family gave to me. I will survive one way or another. You cannot help me any more, Dale. I am not one of the Long Patrol, not now at any rate. If I live, I will rejoin, but until then, I am simply a sole hare that is trying to help you out. No other beast can do it, Daleria.' 

'But...!' 

Shaking his head one last time, Rapieratce turned and walked out of the infirmary, of out her life, and out of Salamandastron. 

Rapieratce walked out of the infirmary with slumped shoulders and walked slowly up to his dormitory to clear it out. Hastily avoiding any hare that came his way, he strode dejectedly over to his dormitory. Almost running, he entered his room and looked sadly around. 

_This may be the last time I'll be looking at this place... But it would be worth it._

Throwing his stuff into a box and shoving it into the spare closet so as not to clutter up the next colonel's place in the room, he cleared all his belongings before taking out a long slim box. Dusting it off, Rapieratce withdrew an old rapier of his, his first. It was given to him, too long ago for him to remember. The sheath was barely even worn, he had not used it very much as he had trained with his given rapier from the beginning. The blade was not as keen, but still valid enough or good use. Silently strapping it on, he closed the case and set it into the spare closet with the rest of his things, hoping that he would live to reclaim the stuff. Packing a haversack, but not really paying very much attention to what he was throwing in, he absent mindedly thought back to what Consellariel had said about his rapier. 

_I cannot promise you anything._

What did that mean? Wistfully, Rapieratce was dearly hoping that she would keep it from anybeast else or melt it down or do anything terrible to it . He had had the blade... for so long. Way back when he was only a regular hare, not even a galloper, he had that thing strapped onto his back. His old blade felt unnatural to him compared to the familiar sensation of the other sheath that he once had. Sighing, he knew that he could do nothing. Slinging the pack over his back, he walked out and closed the door softly, looking at it one last time before turning and walking away. 

_I will see this place again. I will see this place again. I will see this place again. Repeat._

_You know that you may not, 'Atce. The odds are against you._

_It does not mean that it is impossible._

_It comes close._

Rapieratce realized that he was approaching the infirmary only when he heard the sounds of heated quarrelling between what sounded like Consellariel and Daleria. 

_This is most definitely not good._

From what he could hear, the conversation was going along the lines of: 

_Marm! You can't just let him leave like that! He won't survive out there! Not alone!_

_It was his choice, captain._

_It does not give him leave to simple walk away and practically kill himself!_

The ex-colonel cringed and thought to himself, 

_Speak for yourself, Dale. I had to stop you from doing that more than a few times._

The argument went on, 

_I cannot help what he thinks!_

_You could have stopped him as you stopped me!_

_He chose it himself! I had no right in saying no to him!_

_YES YOU DID! You told it to me yourself so long ago!_

_That was a different matter, Daleria!_

_No it is not! All the matters are because of ME and all the matters involve somebeast being endangered because of ME!_

_It does not matter!_

_Yes it does! Do you not see that he WILL NOT SURVIVE?! You are allowing him to go on a suicide mission?_

_I am not sending him on anything! He is no longer of the Long Patrol and I HAVE no control over what he does!_

Rapieratce risked a look into the infirmary. It looked like Daleria had finally managed to escape the grasps of the white sheets, and she was burning up. Standing directly in front of the standing badger lady, both were shouting at each other in rage. The young captain was practically sneering at Consellariel. Things were getting very heated, mayhap overly so. 

_You are afraid to admit it, then, marm? That he is never truly gone? Even though he left, it does not mean he is gone. Not from us._

_He is gone captain. That is all!_

_You are a fool to believe that, marm._

It was not going well. Never before had there been such a direct argument against a badger lady from a hare. 

_He left of his own will. You see this a proof._

Consellariel lifted up his rapier. Rapieratce cringed at the very sight of it. 

_THAT! Marm, you could have at least left him a weapon!_

_You heard him, Daleria. His has another._

_Do not be obstinate, marm! That rapier has been in his use and possession longer than I have been alive! The one he now wields is probably damaged or blunt!_

_That is his problem, captain._

Rapieratce cringed again. Daleria looked ready to explode by then. What she did next was probably the most daring thing any hare in the Long Patrol had ever done in the face of a badger lord or lady. Reaching up, she snatched his rapier out of Consellariel's paws. 

_This,_

She snarled, menacingly, 

_is going back to its rightful owner._

Consellariel was too shocked to do anything. In fact, every otherbeast was also stunned at the captain's actions. Before anyone could do anything, she ran out of the door, only to be stopped by Rapieratce. 

'Rapieratce!' 

She held out the rapier, but slowly, Rapieratce shook his head. To be truthful, every part of him wanted to take the rapier and flee, but he knew better than to do that. Daleria looked at him as if he was crazy. Rapieratce shot her a look that said a few million things that even he himself could not interpret, and let it linger for a while. He could tell that Daleria was not unwilling to keep the gaze up either. Then, his common sense and sensibility kicked in, as did Daleria's, and both of them cursed their consciences for letting them take over for the briefest moments. Rapieratce tore his eyes away. Firmly forcing her to turn around, he marched he straight back into the infirmary and handed the rapier back to Consellariel. It took every bit of effort to let it go. Refusing to look the badger lady in the eye, he quickly turned and began to walk away. He was stopped by a number of hares whom had all gathered in the doorway. In the lead was Remora. 

'What on Mossflower are you doing, sah?' 

Rapieratce winced at the title. Still refusing to look anybeast in the eye, he started to push his way through the crowd, but was instantly held back. Turning his head away, he tried again, only to be blocked again. Remora asked again. 

'Where are you going, sah? And why-' 

Rapieratce winced again and held up his paw to stop her. Softly, he said. 

'Please, don't call me that. Just move away.' 

Remora looked extremely shocked. The brigadier stared at him, as said, 

'What? Don't call you what, sah?' 

Wincing at the title again, he said still staring at the floor and refusing to look up. 

'That. Don't call me sah. Just, please, just move.' 

Remora was by then completely stunned. Stubbornly refusing to move away, she only pushed him further back into the infirmary. 

'So what I heard was true? That you are leaving?' 

Rapieratce just stood there, completely silent and unable to answer. Consellariel decided to add in. 

'Do not act that way, Rapieratce. It is not as if you are doing anything wrong.' 

Softly he replied. 

'Not doing anything wrong, marm? Look at me. I am not exactly the best example of a Long Patrol hare at the moment. By Mossflower, I am not even a Long Patrol hare at the moment.' 

A collective gasp came up from those at the door, and a buzzing of chatter went up. All of them did not want him to leave. Most had refused to believe the rumours alone, therefore deciding not to come up to the infirmary at all. 

'Do not be imbicilic, sah.' 

'I already told you, Brigadier, to stop calling me that.' 

'I do not think anybeast will listen.' 

Rapieratce just looked away. 

'Just let me leave.' 

Standing to take his leave, he was again stopped, this time by Daleria, who had once again snatched away the rapier from the inattentive Consellariel. She thrust the leather sheath with the rapier into his paws. It was evident, though, that both of them took special care not to look overly close into each others eyes. 

'Take it, 'Atce. You know that you want to take it.' 

Looking sadly down at her, he shook his head. 

'I could not take it even if I wanted to. You know that I cannot.' 

Turning dejectedly, he forced himself again to place the rapier back into Consellariel's paws. But she did not accept it.Consellariel did not accept the rapier, but simply settled for silently watching him, arms crossed and quiet. The ex-colonel could not tell if she was angry, amused or simply doing that to infuriate him. Daleria was watching him in stunned silence, and she looked somehow offended. Remora was still glaring at him in disbelief and Longrunn was wearing a look on his face that clearly read "I told you not to do that". Rapieratce was surrounded on all sides, standing there struck dumb holding his old rapier not knowing what to do at all. Remora behind him, Daleria on one side, Longrunn on the other and Consellariel in front of him, he could not escape from them. Furthermore, the entrance was blocked by a horde of hares that was heatedly arguing over him leaving. There was no way he was getting out of this with a clean sheet. 

_No escape. Oh, by Mossflower, how did I get myself into this bally mess?_

Looking at Daleria and pleading with his eyes, he implored her to move. She looked back at him with a look that clearly meant "You got yourself into this. Don't look at me". She turned her head away immediately after that, not wishing to have any further contact with him. Turning his head to Remora, the brigadier was looking at him, arms crossed and waiting for an explanation. No help there either. Consellariel was ruled out, and Longrunn was not going to move even if Rapieratce tried to force him. He was stuck. As a last resort, he looked up at Consellariel, raised an eyebrow and asked, 

'Marm?' 

Consellariel looked down at him grimly. Rapieratce shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. 

'Can I go now?' 

Rapieratce felt like jumping off the mountain, hiding beneath a rock, anything to save him from the situation. Desperately hoping that Consellariel would only discuss petty matters and let him self, he formulated as many excuses as possible that would get him out of the predicament that he was in, he looked at everybeast around him. Trying to ignore the fact that he was cornered and the centre of attention, he waited for an answer. 

'Sit.' 

Swallowing, he shouldered past two of the hares and sat down on a nearby waiting chair while the other three got their own. 

Save me now. No, kill me now. 

Dearly hoping that he would get out of this affair alive, he waited out the agonizing moments and piercing glares from all four of them. Only training in keeping a straight face saved him. Silently thanking his ability to cover up his emotions relatively well, he cocked his eyebrow again and tried to act as nonchalant as possible. Finally, the badger lady spoke up, to his intense relief. 

'I am beginning to have misgivings on allowing you to leave the service, Rapieratce.' 

Stunned, the ex-colonel nearly spluttered out an answer to that question. 

'What?' 

Daleria was starting to enjoy the situation. It was not very common, catching Rapieratce off his guard and finding him loosing his usual composure. Sitting back comfortably in her chair, she watched as the play unfolded before her eyes. She was really starting to enjoy the dilemma Rapieratce had just been placed in. 

'You heard me very well, Rapieratce. I am not sure as to whether or not to retract your request. I have had a... discussion with ah, a _certain_ hare, and your idea may not be a very good one.' 

'You already pointed that out earlier, marm. Why are you stopping me now?' 

Consellariel looked directly at him again, her eyes boring deep into his. Longrunn watched grimly from the sidelines, and Remora was patiently waiting the outcome of the situation. Daleria was obviously trying to contain her amusement over the matter, but something seemed to trouble her and keep her amusement bottled up. Rapieratce now knew how she felt when he was doing the same thing to her. 

'You cannot do this alone.' 

'I have survived this long already, marm. You know that I am fully capable of saving myself out in the wild.' 

Sighing experatedly, she looked at him, clearly telling him not to make life difficult for her. Clearing her throat, she went on, 

'You cannot survive through this alone. You know it.' 

'If I do not do it, and if I cannot make it, nobeast will, marm. Force will not work in this situation. You know that it will not.' 

'It may not, but one beast will not get you anywhere either.' 

'Why on Mossflower are you trying to imply, marm?' 

Sighing in frustration from his left side, Remora said, 

'What she means, sah,' 

Rapieratce flinched at the title, but the brigadier pretended not to notice him and continued on anyway. 

'Is that you need some help, albeit only a little... You know that even if force will not work that one solitary hare running around is bound to be stopped one way or another.' 

'Marm?' 

Nodding her head solemnly, she signalled her agreement with the brigadier. 

_Oh, the badger lady is not thinking what I think she is thinking..._

'In that case, Rapieratce, I might just be withdrawing your request for leaving the Long Patrol.' 

A soft cheer came from the door. Rapieratce felt himself burning up. Remora was grinning, and Daleria was nearly acting herself once again, being the sarcarstic and witty hare that she had always been. Mentally groaning, he thought, 

_Here we go again..._

Rapieratce simply looked at Consellariel, asking through eye contact whether she was serious. It looked as if she was. Daleria's argument must have had great effect this time to change the badger lady's mind so easily and quickly. Consellariel was never one to be easily swayed once she had made a decision, especially one of such major impact such as this. With no way of saying no or objecting to the overruling of his idea, and he simply stood there in silence. But groaning mentally, Rapieratce thought to himself. 

_Argh. They just had to do this to me, didn't they? Why on Mossflower do they do this for? Is tormenting ex-colonels their favourite pastime? For Daleria for one it most probably is. Same should go for that confounded brigadier. I never knew Remora could be so annoyingly stubborn. Longrunn should learn to let go one of these days. But Dale... Oh no. No no no. Back off conscience. Don't even think about it._

_They seem to like doing that, 'Atce. Well, I like to, if nobeast does. Besides, you do want to admit, you have to confess, that you honestly do want to admit that you l-._

If groaning mentally had volume, Rapieratce would have groaned four times louder than before. It looked like his conscience had decided to pay him a friendly visit that day. He shut it up before it could complete the sentece. 

_I thought we had parted ways already._

_Not a chance._

Sighing, Rapieratce nodded, and an all out applause broke out from the door. Rapieratce swore he was going to blush. Daleria was acting hardly like a captain right then, and Remora had a look on her face that badly needed to be wiped off, in his opinion. Longrunn, at least was keeping his face straight. Consellariel had closed his paw over his rapier, and finally the four let him leave.   
The minute he had managed to get past the crowd outside the door, which resulted in much pushing and shoving, he ran all the way up to his dormitory. Repacking most of his stuff and gladly throwing his pack back into the storage cupboard, he threw his old rapier off in relief. 

Sitting down on the bed and lying back, the hare took a moment to gather his wits about him and analyse the situation properly. Though not exactly happy that Consellariel was going to risk more than one hare in the mission, he was still greatly relieved that at least one matter was off his back. Startled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door, he quickly jumped back up and answered. 

'Who is it?' 

The door slid open slightly and a head poked its way through, 

'Sah?' 

'Ridgefur?' 

Ridgefur was one of the sentries, and if Rapieratce was not mistaken, was the sentry for the current shift at the moment. Motioning for him to come in, the colonel asked, 

'What is it?' 

The sentry slipped in and stood to attention, as was regulation with those not as acquainted with the colonel as some others. Waving the sentry to ease, the colonel raised an eyebrow and signalled for him to continue. 

'Sah, there has been a delay with the vermin. One of the patrols managed to find out that they had been pulled back because of some injury or another. To the hostages or not I do not know.' 

Not good. Hopefully nothing has happened to those five. 

Not showing his anxiety, the colonel asked again. 

'Anything else?' 

Nodding his head, Ridgefur continued, 

'Lady Consellariel wishes to see you in the forge along with the brigadier, sergeant Longrunn and captain Daleria, sah.' 

Nodding, Rapieratce dismissed Ridgefur, who turned and walked away. Pondering on why Consellariel would want him up in the forge he walked towards the staircase leading up, meeting Daleria there by chance. Nearly groaning out loud, Rapieratce had the urge to turn and walk away there and then until she disappeared, but too late. The captain had already spotted him and would no doubt be teasing him to no end. Pay back was not the nicest affair when it came to Daleria. She was already grinning. 

Save me now. 

Hoping that the captain would let him off easy, Rapieratce knew, however, that Daleria would do anything but let the matter rest. 

'So, Rapieratce, looks like you are not going anywhere now.' 

'Let the matter rest, captain, please.' 

'Acting uptight and righteous so quickly already?' 

'Don't do this to me, Dale.' 

'Revenge is sweet, sah.' 

Rapieratce was practically itching to say This is one of the times when I would gladly kill you, captain, but shut his mouth and walked ahead. Daleria was only too happy to catch up. 

'What does the lady want us for?' 

'I do not know, m'gel.' 

'You should lighten up, 'Atce.' 

'Lighten up, captain?' 

'Take a break, sah, you look like you need one.' 

Not that I can afford one at this time. 

They had made it to the fourth floor by then, and found that Remora and Longrunn were only just ahead of them. Quickening their pace to catch up with the sergeant and the brigadier, the four made their way to the door. Daleria had decided that she had had enough fun in teasing the colonel and finally let the matter rest, deciding instead to discuss random matters that Longrunn and Remora had brought up. The colonel kept silent in thought, as he usually did. They all arrived at the huge forge door simultaneously. Rapieratce knocked softly. Consellariel's voice responded, telling them to enter. Moving themselves into the massive forge and standing to immediate attention, they awaited for her orders. 

'Since you few are already at the heart of this matter, I have decided on you four to go on this errand. Even you, Daleria. Since it is already such a risk trying to attain the cure, I might as well send you as well to make sure that these three do not get intercepted on the way back. I dare say that your swordmanship will be on par with all here, even the colonel.' 

Resisting the urge to grin at the colonel again, Daleria nodded. Rapieratce twitched. 

'But I am still not taking any chances, even if the vermin are being delayed by three days or no. There will be a one on one training session in an hours time for you four.' 

Nodding, they all stood silent. 

'Very well, dismissed.' 

Leaving the forge, nobeast spoke. One on one training were known to be the most intense of all the known types of training provided on the mountain. Not everybeast got these trainings very often. The amount of aggression and hazard put into it required extreme reflexes and fast reaction time. There were many known cases of injury during these the one on one training. In fact, Taremin had stated that she got more injuries out of one on one training than any other. And since the situation they were going into was not the most simple, the training was most definitely not going to be a very easy one. Rapieratce was grim again. Having been on his own fair share of individual expeditions out in the country alone such as this, though not as serious, as a captain way back when, he knew how gruelling the training was. Remora too was also grim and silent. Longrunn looked too distant for comfort. Daleria, having the least experience in the area, saw from the others looks that the day was not going to be the most easy going she had ever seen. Swallowing, she followed them down, breaking away at the second story to make her way back towards her own dormitory. So the four made preparations for that day. Intense training indeed.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. And deeper still.

What Really Counts D/A Part two. 

Daleria was frankly amazed at the amount of weapons that lay arrayed in front of her. Throwing daggers, fighting daggers, short daggers, long daggers, curved daggers, broadswords, sabres, fencing sabres, rapiers, pikes, spears, quarterstaffs and nearly every available weapon of Salamandastron must have been there. Training was looking to be an interesting one that day. They had been told to pick one, any one, of the weapons, save for the one they were best used to. Which meant nothing long for her, no sabres, rapiers or anything in that league. 

_Argh. Really bad. Not good._

Settling instead for two close combat fighting daggers, she weighted the two daggers, which were long and slim, straight and deadly, up in her paws. They were surprisingly light, well, at least compared to her usual sabre. Made for sharp and fast whirls and a hundred and eighty degree turning moves, the two blades were keen, sharp and lethal. The hilt was of untarnished metal, smooth and cold to the touch, but with engraved carvings of vines that increased the grip greatly. The double edged blade gleamed in a bright sheen. Silver hafted and straight, they looked harmless and small, but dealt out major damage. Daleria was happy enough. 

Remora, who normally used short swords herself, had resorted to using a fencing sabre, not curved as most were, but straight and long. The blade fit her quite well, and she was cutting at air, testing the balance. Though not practised in it, the brigadier had enough experience so as to be able to handle the weapon quite, if not very, well. 

Longrunn, a sabre using hare himself, went for the rapier. There was not much difference between the two, save for the fact that most sabres were curved whereas rapiers were not, and the rapier blade was the finer and sleeker of the two. Shaking her head, Daleria thought, 

_No creativity, the lot._

Rapieratce on the other hand, had quite a bit of creativity of his own. What he had picked was something like a scythe, only that it looked more like a quarterstaff or a lance with a straight instead of curved blade attached. Having used both quarterstaff and lance on many occasions, he was coping quite well, considering that he usually never parted with the rapier unless forced to. And Daleria knew that when it came to forcing Rapieratce off his rapier, it would probably have involved a number of hares holding him down while a badger pried the steel off his paw. Not exactly the most flexible of the lot, but Daleria had to admit he was good at it. The colonel was too busy spinning the staff around and reacquainting himself with the usage of a staff to notice that she was scrutinizing him. She was forced to turn her attention back to the badger lady when she starting talking. 

Evidently, they would be going against a couple of practice officers, who had all been trained in such ways of ambush and concealment. The only limitation was not to kill anybeast, just disarm. Even with her knowledge of blades, Daleria felt rather insecure with her current selection. She preferred to keep the enemy at a distance and keep them there. But since she was considerably better at them than with a rapier, which was too fine bladed in her opinion, and furthermore Consellariel would not have approved of her using any long bladed piece of steel knowing that she could adapt perfectly well, thin blade or no, she kept with the daggers. Swallowing her emotions down hastily, she set off into the training course, which happened to look more like a obstacle course in her opinion, since it was made to make things more difficult, as well as doubling as cover for the "attackers". It only gave her an even greater amount of uncertainty knowing that wherever and whenever, there could be an ambush from any angle. 

The four of them were sticking together as a defence, each looking out for the other. Out of nowhere, a hare jumped out near Daleria's side, brandishing a sabre in front of himself in a position fit to stab. Instinct made Daleria drop to the floor, and using her forepaws, pushed herself away just before the sabre came whistling down in the position where her head had been seconds ago. 

_Talk about intense..._

Not missing a beat, she swung her legs from behind her, sending the ambusher sprawling. Before she could get up though, the ambusher had already kicked away one of her daggers, her right one, out of her paw. Leaving her vulnerable with only her weak paw to defend herself, the ambusher lurched at her furiously, but was cut off but Rapieratce's blunt end of his quarterstaff, which sent the hare flying backwards. The captain shot the colonel a look of thanks, knowing how close to obvious "death" on the training field she had just come to, and Rapieratce smirked slightly before turning his attention back to the present. Daleria knew she was in his debt, and she scowled, knowing full well that the colonel knew that. She brought herself back to the present with a sharp mental kick. She was letting herself slip up. The captain scrambled up in a flurry of sand, dashing over to the hare before he could get up. With a swift and well placed kick, she sent the hare's sabre flying upwards, catching it in her free paw before tossing it away somewhere, as were the rules. Just as she as about to head back to the group, the sound of something behind her alerted her into immediate action. 

Once again dropping to the floor, Daleria rammed the hilt of her remaining dagger hard into the ankle of the hare who had tried to creep up behind her, causing him to fall awkwardly. Catching his armed paw, she tried to wrench the rapier that he held away from him to no avail. He had the position advantage over her, and managed to wrestle his paw free of her grasp. This time, no help came, as every one of the others were also occupied with their own problems. Rapieratce was busy fending off somebeast with two long curved daggers, Remora was... seemingly fencing, and Longrunn was typically playing fancy and trying to disarm the hare before him. Resorting to kneeing the hare, she took advantage of the fact that he was clutching his stomach and rammed her elbow into his right temple hard, knocking him out and flinging his weapon away from him. Jumping to her feet, Daleria ducked as she saw a arrow, blunt for safety's sake in case it hit its mark, come flying her way before dashing over to her fallen dagger and retrieving it. 

Rapieratce was not having an easy time either, considering that the hare that had ambushed him was carrying two blades instead of one, which only made life more difficult for him. Struggling furiously against the onslaught, he took a downwards sweep with a diagonal strike upwards, knocking the opponent's arm upwards before taking a three sixty twirl across the top of his paw before reinforcing it with his other arm and delivering another whack to the enemy's other paw. Rapieratce felt a slight pity for the hare as he heard the hare's paw crack, but did not let it linger when the ambusher recomposed himself enough to return to an attacking stance. Bringing his staff back in a retreating twirl, he slashed up as he used the staff to fend off the two blades, but found himself in peril when the hare switched strategies and sandwiched his staff inbetween his curved blades. His mind thinking up the fastest plan he could in the shortest time, Rapieratce brought down the staff before suddenly raising it up and turning it into a double twist vertically. This sent both blades flying off somewhere, and the ambusher backed off in defeat, knowing better than to stick around and get himself murdered. 

_They always pick on the colonels, don't they? Being high ranking comes with its disadvantages. Sometimes I really wish I had stayed a captain. I'm starting to envy Dale._

Rapieratce saw Daleria join Remora, and ran off to help the sergeant, even though Longrunn did not look like he needed help, though. Rapieratce reached him just in time to see the other hare being disarmed with flourish. Longrunn went about finishing the job, pleased with the outcome. Keen eyes saved the day, though, while Longrunn was busy ridding the fallen hare of his weapon, Rapieratce heard the sounds of a crossbow being deliberately drawn slowly back. Instinct seized hold of him, and he yanked the sergeant down just in time to see a arrow embed itself in a wooden marker some distance away. Nodding his thanks to the colonel, both hares got up and went to aid Daleria and Remora. 

The brigadier and captain were not in good positions, Daleria having two on her back and Remora trying valiantly to battle off three at the same time. It was unwise to get ringed, but in this case, Rapieratce suspected that they could not have evaded it if they tired. Longrunn tripped up the one behind Daleria with the basket hilt of his rapier, jumping nimbly up as the hare tried to take a swipe at his footpaws even in his fallen position. Rapieratce locked the blade of his pike with the long dagger of one of the hares who had cornered Remora, seasons of experience and practice coming into play as he disarmed the attacker with a swift, low and sudden dip of the blade followed by a upward twirl, sending the dagger whistling off in the opposite direction because of the momentum. 

Daleria was handling the other hare with superb speed, crossing both her daggers in front of her as the sabre of the hare in front of her crashed down on her defence. The attacker only realized his mistake when it was too late. Grinning, the captain pushed the crossed daggers downwards, trapping the sabre blade in between before forcefully swinging herself to the left and rolling off the back of her attacker, sending the hare's sabre spinning across the grounds as she gracefully rolled off. Remora had had a little trouble, as her attacker was using a quarterstaff as opposed to a blade, but had used her head and resorted to a feint to the left before stretching her paw out and grabbing the quarterstaff and pulling the wooden staff towards her, while her footpaw came up and kicked the handler away. Successful, she threw the staff away like a javelin and turned to face her other opponent, only to find him cornered by both the sergeant and the colonel. There was no hope for the attacker, and true to her suspicions, another blade came flying out of the fray seconds later. Ducking as the blade whistled past, Remora limped over to the other three. 

None had got away scott free from the training. Daleria had a gash across her shoulder in addition to a bruise in her side, the sergeant, a wound in the left footpaw and a split lip while the colonel had attained an injury to the knee and a streak down his right shoulder blade through to the left on his back. The brigadier herself was sporting a bleeding lower thigh and a partially dislocated shoulder. All panting, they paused to recover their wits, but the silence was broken by a clapping, which turned out to be Consellariel. The badger lady walked slowly up to them, smiling, 

'Very well done, if I do say so myself... I never knew our colonel to be good with a quarterstaff... Nor that Daleria favoured such close combat.' 

Coming raggedly to attention, they waited eagerly for dismissal, as they badly needed the rest, reason being that they would be leaving the mountain the next day. There were only two more dawns to come before Seppak reached Salamandastron. Seeing their tired appearances, Consellariel finished up quickly. 

'Fine then, place the weapons back there, and get yourselves cleaned up. The three of you, dismissed. Colonel, stay back a bit, will you?' 

After placing their weapons back, the three hares shuffled off quickly to the infirmary while Rapieratce lingered behind to wait for what Consellariel was going to say. He really wished that Galde was there right then. The late colonel had been a tutor to him, much older as well. He always managed to get out of Consellariel's lectures more or less alive, and pulling the younger Rapieratce out of the fray at the same time. The colonel missed him greatly. Having been taken in at a really young age by the elderly colonel, Rapieratce had of course been placed immediate second for colonel, young as he was. Rapieratce was the youngest colonel on the mountain, if the records stood true. To be truthful, Rapieratce wished that he could have put of his promotion a few more seasons or so, but the unfortunate loss of Galde had left the mountain at loss for an older replacement and thus it came immediately down to him. Rapieratce's family had put Galde in charge of him since very young, and the old colonel had been practically everything to him. Fencing, scouting, and of course preparation for being future colonel had all come from him. Galde was the one that had spotted his potential in the first place, whereas Rapieratce had been perfectly content to step up and advance slowly. Galde did not have any of it, though. Rapieratce was pushed from patroller to lieutenant to corporal to sergeant and finally to captain, where Galde thought it would be best for him to slow down and concentrate on his training. Rapieratce never suspected that his turn would have come so early. But he had been brought up to obey commands, so there was nothing he could do about it. Galde, however, had always made sure that Rapieratce had always been on the top of the others on the mountain, resorting to pairing him up with Glamoren, the other hare that Galde had thought worthy. Everything. Galde was the father that he had given up for the order. It resulted in the current day Rapieratce, the calm, work o holic, perfectionist that everybeast now knew. Rapieratce really wished that Galde was still around. Rapieratce never really considered himself worthy of the position, and never thought that it would have come unto him so early. Right now, he really wanted Galde to talk to and get some good advice. Standing still at immediate attention, he awaited any orders, his actions out of practice rather than thought. Consellariel waved him into a stand easy position. 

'Colonel, whatever may happen on this mission, I do not want any of you to get hurt, do you hear me? Of as much importance as this might be to you, I want all of you back, with or without the cure.' 

Nodding and keeping his eyes ahead, Rapieratce waited it out. 

'If any one of you are to be injured, which is still to be avoided at all costs, return to the mountain at **once**, understood?' 

Rapieratce was about to protest, but before the first word could leave his mouth, the badger lady cut him off, knowing full well that the colonel was going to protest. 

'I do not care if you attain the cure or not, if you do not, you come back and wait until it has blown over. It is safer.' 

Shutting his mouth resolutely, the colonel nodded. 

'Very well, dismissed. But do not forget my words.' 

Saluting, the colonel turned and left, heart heavy, and duty and memory descending down on his shoulders like a dead weight once again as he moved off towards the infirmary to get patched up. He had to finish this mission up. He could not just fail in his duty so easily. If Galde had been alive, Rapieratce would most probably be skinned alive should he fail. The young colonel really wanted to keep his standards, and his mentors expectations high, and by all means fulfil them. Rapieratce never thought of being too hard on himself. All that mattered was that he did things exactly as he was supposed to. He walked out to the infirmary in deep thought, and stayed that way until he fell asleep a few hours later. 

* 

Dawn had yet to arrive, and they were already up. So early it was that the lights of the night before were still lit and flickering in the cold. Daleria only just realized then that the autumn was come, and how cold it really was turning out to be. The air was crisp and clear, frosty and fresh to her breath. The late stars still twinkled, and the moon was not yet set. The captain had pulled herself out of bed, albeit very reluctantly, still aching from training the day before, and forced herself to wake up. She walked to a corner of her room where a basin of water was waiting, cold from the night air and clear. It shimmered as she looked groggily in and saw her dishevelled self in the reflection, squinting in the darkness. Not a single ray of sunlight was to be seen on the horizon as yet. After splashing her face with the waiting cold water from the basin to wake herself up properly, she strapped on her sheath, and still yawning, slung a small, lightweight pack across her shoulders. Shivering slightly, she was just about to open the door, paw nearly on the knob, when Rapieratce's head popped in, looking annoyingly awake to her. 

_Does that colonel **ever** sleep? He never looks sleepy. Why doesn't he ever look sleepy after a meagre three hours of sleep?_

Looking at him sleepily, she asked, 

'What're you doing here, 'Atce? 'Tis barely dawn for the next few hours. I thought that when you said that you were going to come down here you were only threatening me to wake up.' 

Pulling the rest of his body in, Daleria was surprised to find both Remora and Longrunn also entering alongside Rapieratce, the two looking equally as irritated and sleepy as she was. Seating himself down wordlessly on her bed, the colonel answered as softly as possible, his voice barely over a whisper, keeping his voice down so as not to disturb the others on the officers dormitory floor. Daleria leaned on her table for support and looked at him with raised eyebrows and tired eyes while the other two found two of her chairs and settled themselves down, Remora yawning as she adjusted her sheath, which looked as if it had been hastily pulled on. Longrunn looked as if he simply wanted a few more minutes of shut eye, rare as it was for the sergeant to look this tired. The cold pre dawn air wafted through her open window, chilly and yet refreshing to their barely awake minds, with the exception of Rapieratce, who looked for the world as if it was as normal to be up this early as it was to be up at any other time of the day. Daleria swore that Rapieratce was mad to look so awake at a time like that. There was still a good four hours before dawn, and here they were, in the middle of her dormitory discussing some matter or another. 

_Sometimes, I really pity the hare. He must be used to being awake so early. Life of a colonel, it is. Good for me._

'The lady wanted me to go over some blinkin plan or another that she had arranged, wot, and since we will be leaving soon, I thought it better to discuss the flippin thing now than later.' 

'You mean you woke us all up an hour before necessary to discuss a plan?' 

Shrugging as if an hour of precious sleep was nothing, Rapieratce simply said, 

'Lady Consellariel wanted it, who am I to say no? Besides, it is best to get over matters rather than rush them later and completely mess things up,' 

Groaning at the colonel's straightforward approach and seemingly over anxious display of fore planning, Daleria slapped her forehead in aggravation. 

'This is one of the times when I wish you would just throw the Lady's commands out of the window and improvise, 'Atce. Has it occurred to you that we could have discussed this one the way?' 

Leaning his head on one paw which was on the arm rest of his chair, Sergeant Longrunn waved his other paw at her, sleepily saying, 

'Listen to the commanding officer, Dale.' 

Argh. 

The colonel proceeded to explain the plan, which was proving to be rather complicated after all. Rapieratce's plan had to be the most complicated Daleria had ever seen for such a short trip out the mountain's perimeter. Not that she did not approve of it, nor that she did not like the prospect of a challenge, nor that plans weren't her way of working, just that she was downright tired and completely annoyed. Apparently, Rapieratce had concocted some major plan on going past the hills in the east, then rounding past the larger sand dunes, before stopping behind Seppak's force, at the large rocks, which would provide shelter and a hiding place until Consellariel showed up with the masses. They were to take position and wait until the main part of the foxes were out of the way. There would be a small backup force, made up mostly of officers and the most experienced of the Patrol behind them all the way. 

The whole thing involved taking out some lookouts positioned in the hill area, a small number of sentries they would no doubt be encountering, a small group of roving vermin, not related to Seppak's force but still a threat, and any and every vermin that were spotted. Which meant trajectory weapons, but Remora was handling that, being the best at the bow, while Daleria was going to lug along her delightful array of throwing daggers, useful, evidently for a variety of purposes up to date. Rapieratce and Longrunn would be doing the cover ups of most of the near attacks, and they had a healthy supply of emergency medication that Taremin had forced them to take along, not that force was really needed at the amount of anxiety over the health of the captain. 

Daleria was not interested though. Rapieratce had been looking at them with an annoyed glance for the past ten minutes of "discussion", which had turned out to be simply a one sided conversation with colonel to three veritable walls. Longrunn still had his forehead buried in one paw, which was still resting on the chair, and had it not been for his "Yes, sah"'s and constant nods, Daleria would have long considered him asleep. Remora could be compared with a wooden log and no differences would have been obvious save for the fur. Her head was thrown back over the chair's, her head resting on the wooden support, and it looked for the world that she was out and asleep. 

Daleria leaned on the table, looking uninterested and tired, while the colonel looked irritated at the two, and spoke up rather dryly. 

'If you two are not listening and so tired, go throw yourself into the blinkin sea. That should wake you up.' 

Groaning, Longrunn looked up, pretending to adjust his sheath as he replied, 

'Sah, did we really have to get up this early?' 

Remora had "woken" up at the colonel's comment and piped in. 

'Are we leaving yet, then, sah?' 

Annoyed and tired at the intrusion, Daleria decided to answer for him, 

'You two can go ahead and get yourselves killed, if you are not listening.' 

Protesting, the sergeant complained, 

'Dale, I think I've heard him repeat the plan at least five times already. I think we all already get the blinkin idea. I could probably recite what 'Atce was saying four times round backwards' 

Sighing, Rapieratce simply said, 

'This is a tricky operation. I know you all are tired and annoyed, but if we don't get this bally think over with the first time, I doubt there is going to be a second try.' 

Daleria had finally given up on them, and had stalked off to her window to catch her breath. Sighing as she leaned on the frame, she realized there and then that it was now or never. Everything came down to this. The ever helpful conscience popped up in the back of her mind again. Well, it was more helpful than Rapieratce's conscience was to him at any rate. 

_You know you want to run, Dale..._

_I cannot..._

_You want to, to spare everybeast..._

_Maybe a little bit..._

_Maybe with all your heart._

_It all comes down to me. Why?_

_Because you were chosen for this, from the very beginning._

_Why? I never wanted this._

_Nobeast wants a life like yours, but you must be satisfied with what you already have._

_What I have amounts to just about nothing._

_That is not true, Dale._

_Take a look. I don't amount to very much..._

_Still, there are those how love you still._

_No, no way, not going to talk about that._

_You know that he does..._

_I don't care, not going to talk about that._

_He does, you know. You do to. Look at yourself. You did not even shut me up when I mention it._

_One more time you mention that subject..._

_Denial will not be able to last forever, Dale. 'Atce knows you too well, and you him._

_That's not the point! What the point is that everybeast, not just him, is going to be in jeopardy if I do not do something quick enough._

Lost in the swarm of her thoughts, she barely noticed the colonel come up behind her, looking rather concerned. She was looking blankly out the window, lost and confused as she ever was. Contemplation had made reality sink in rather hard for the young captain, life was hard for her more than it had ever been. 

'Calm down, captain. We'll all get through this one way or another.' 

Softly, she replied, 

'What if we don't? What if the rest of the mountain is put into peril? It all comes down to me, doesn't it?' 

'No it doesn't. A whole blinkin horde of filthy vermin is everybeast's problem.' 

'But it all rolls back down to me. I am sick of that. Everything, back down to me, everything on me. Why am I always centred around this?' 

'It is a hard fate, but one must live it out, wot?' 

'Live? The only seeming option here for me seems to die.' 

'Don't say that, m'gel. When there is life, there is always hope.' 

'Hope is faint...' 

'But it is still there. It has always been. You've been through that much, and you've come this far, you're still alive. Come what may, m'gel. Cross the bridge when you come to it. Just get on with the mission, finish it, and take up whatever comes on after it, wot?' 

Pulling her away from the window sill, the captain nodded, albeit gloomily, and ransacked a nearby drawer, withdrawing a canvas pocketed sheet that contained her entire dagger collection, a very big one at that. Shoving it into her pack, she nodded to the three and walked out, leaving the three behind in her room to come down whenever they wished. Nobeast was in a rush to follow her. All those there knew she would not be going anywhere alone, not in the condition that she was in. Sighing deeply, the colonel shook his head as he watched her retreating figure. 

'Too much, too fast, too young and too inexperienced. Life is passing too fast for her at any rate.' 

Nodding, now fully awake, the brigadier agreed fully. Shaking herself awake and standing up as she stretched, she commented. 

'She's too young to be facing all of this. It has not been fair for her. Not at all.' 

The sergeant stood up, and Longrunn shook his head sadly at her, 

'It's amazing she's survived this bally long. All this happening in seven seasons, loosing everything that she had.' 

Grimly, the colonel marched out after her, muttering. 

'But she's not going to loose what she has now.' 

Remora looked at Longrunn, and the two exchanged glances. Both grinned before rushing off after the fast moving colonel. Rapieratce was going to go through hell this trip. 

* 

Daleria stalked away from her dormitory on the third floor, leaving her thoughts behind and swiftly making her way outside the mountain's front door with purposeful steps, not wasting any time at all and putting up a scorching pace that had the other three half running to catch up with her. She had to get both her insane thoughts on rushing out as well as those that tried to get her to admit she liked the colonel. So maybe she did... Daleria nearly whacked herself. She descended the staircases in a soft, rapid patter of footpaws and made her way out to the entrance of the mountain fort, where she knew that the badger lady would be waiting for them. 

Rapieratce nearly crashed into her when she stopped suddenly short of the outside, which cause Remora to skid to a stop behind him as well and resulted in causing Longrunn to scrabble madly for his footing on the smooth stone floor as he tried to avoid smashing himself into his superiors, which would end up in chaos, but unfortunately failed in a flurry of footpaws. 

The sergeant rammed into the brigadier's back, who slipped at the contact, nearly falling sharply onto her back, which resulted in her legs snagging onto Rapieratce's, bringing him down as well. The colonel crashed down on his side in a painful addition to the chain reaction, which ended up in the captain in front of him tripping up as well in a brilliant crash that finished it off. Evidently badgers were not affected by hares crashing into them, so Consellariel managed to stay upright, eyeing her fallen officers with a raised eyebrow that concealed a chuckle. There they were, the seemingly four most dignified and best fighters on the mountain, sprawled out on the floor in a careless act of flying footpaws and failing arms. 

The sight was a rather comical one, and Daleria found herself immensely grateful that few others were awake at the time to see the glorious downfall of some of the highest-ranking hares on the mountain, all on the floor. With a groan that sounded like a threat to Longrunn's life, she pulled herself up, rubbing at the same spot where she had bashed her head on barely a few days ago, which had just made contact with her good friend the rock floor again. Behind her, the colonel winced at his sore side, courtesy of Remora, who was not free of a bruise herself, having taken a fall on her back, making moving slightly painful for her. 

Longrunn was slowly edging away from them, trying to make his presence as unapparent as possible, having caused the fall in the first place. Daleria shot him a glare as she slowly got up to salute the badger lady, helping the colonel up from behind her in the process. Remora knelt on one knee before hauling herself up, having hit the hipbone made standing painful. Longrunn kept quiet at the back, making the pretence that nothing had ever happened, for obvious reasons, if a beast valued his life, he would stay away from an angry Daleria. Especially if a fencing sabre blade was anywhere in paw range. 

The four finally managed to righten themselves out and saluted Consellariel, who looked them over with a highly amused look on her face, her eyes alight in humour. 

'The four of you should refrain from making this much noise so early in the day. The others may think that a vermin attack may have just occurred from the racket you few just stirred up.' 

Daleria braved enough to make a move while staying at attention in front of the badger lady so as to turn and glower at her sergeant, who pretended not to notice and kept his eyes above the badger lady's head, not budging from his at attention position. There was a slight chuckled from the vague area of Rapieratce's, which resulted in a swift elbowing that shut him up verily well. Consellariel let out a soft laugh, shaking in mirth at the behaviour of her captain. 

'Forgive the sergeant, Daleria, he did nothing. And I think the colonel's ribs hurt enough without your elbow reinforcing the matter.' 

Feigning innocence, Daleria returned to the at attention pose. Consellariel proceeded to introduce them to the team that would be backing them up. The captain recognized many of the names as those that she had met on the first few days in the mountain, such as Drill Sergeant Mianent and Corporal Bueatrill, not to mention the more familiar names such as Joseph and Dallaw. 

The others were much newer to her memory, having been on the mountain for such a short period of time, she did not really mix around very much. She was introduced to a Runner cum sentry, Ridgefur, and another major, recently promoted, Glamoren, who was seemingly away at the time Daleria had been introduced to the officers, seemingly on a joint mission with Rapieratce in the Mossflower region, the two being old friends of the same age and partners, having served at the same time. 

The lady led them out, where to rest were waiting, and repeated the plan to the rest of those present who had not been earlier briefed on the mission's status and aim. Her voice echoed off the shore, the silence was cut like a sheet ripped by a keen blade. The chilly air was synonymous with the silence around the mountain. No hare doubted the seriousness and danger of the condition the mountain was in. If Salamandastron were to fall now, the shore would be entirely unprotected, and Redwall and the rest of Mossflower would be at the mercy and cruelty of Seppak, entirely and wholly. It was not a cheery outlook. 

Nodding, the badger lady sent them off, which her misgivings, though. Pulling the colonel aside once again, she signalled for the rest in front of her to move off first, knowing full well that the colonel was perfectly well able to find them and keep up later. In solemnity, she reminded him of her words once again. Worry was etched deep in her striped face, echoing her heart's anxiety over the matter. The case was a difficult and perilous one indeed. 

'Do not leave your vigilance behind, colonel, not now of all times. You will need all of it on this expedition. Keep your guard up, if nobeast else will, you are one to go down to the minor details, as you always have. Do not leave loose ends untied, that is the most important of all. If a single vermin that spots your troop gets away, the consequences will be too great to even consider. I want you to personally finish any off. I hope that you will not disappoint, not to both me nor to Galde. He would not have been happy if you had. Do not slip up. Understood?' 

Unsheathing his rapier slowly and saluting the badger lady in Salamandastron fashion, Rapieratce nodded. 

'Yes, marm.' 

'Good. Do not disappoint me, Rapieratce. Dismiss!' 

Running, Rapieratce soon caught up with the patrol after the talk with the badger lady, quickly dashing up to the head of the rather small pack of sprinting hares. Breathing in deeply, he moved in front together with Daleria and the brigadier, while the sergeants, the lieutenant and corporals loitered around. Glamoren was out scouting ahead, keeping as low a profile as he could, as Rapieratce's trained eye could see from the faint fleeting figure dashing off in the distance. Keeping silent, they solemn party marched on, always with somebeast covering their tracks in the sands as they left them. The pace they set was scorching, leaving the fire mountain far behind in less than three hours. Military precision and training resulted in absolute obedience and silence, which led to the covering of the entire way from the mountain to the hills far in the east in a full, tiring day's good march. 

By the time they had reached their destination, the sun was already setting in the horizon, making it a full day's march that few other hares had ever gone through, even most of the more experienced veterans had never gone on such a long march before. By the time they had set camp, arranged sentry duties and all, Daleria had collapsed fully onto her knees, gasping deeply for breath. The slow working poison in her veins was taking a harder affect than she had expected. The effects were getting more and more serious as the days passed. 

Trying to force the numbing blackness that had been hanging around her since the first hallucination attack away from the back of her mind, Daleria felt as though she was being thrown down a never ending black hole. Her eyes dilating and refocusing alarmingly as she hung her head and shut her eyes tightly in a effort to fight it off. The newest blow to her head was not a improvement to her condition either, the throbbing making her want to slip away into nothingness, though she knew that she must not, lest she stay blacked out for longer than would have been convenient. Breathing in deeply and forcing her blurred eyes open again, she knelt on one knee as the world swam dangerously about like a struggling fish. Her vision wavered, until she could take it no more and focused her eyes on the blissfully seamless sand beneath her, which provided solace from the dizzying movement above the patterned ground. Somewhere along the infinite areas of subconsiousness, the hare captain slowly grew aware of somebeast trying to pull her off the ground, but kept her head down and refused to move from her position, kneeling heavily on her one knee for support, greatly doubting the steadiness of her paws if she braved the risk of standing. Her knees were slowly leaking energy though, and she felt herself swaying dangerously from left to right, and instinctively her paw stuck out of support herself. However, instead of hard sand, she found her hand being grasped by somebeast, her eyes were not working enough for her to trust. Vaguely, she heard the firm yet worried voice of what sounded like the colonel telling her to stand up. 

'Stand up, m'gel! Are you all right? Captain! Answer me, for the sake of Mossflower! Don't scare us! Dale?' 

Tottering wildly, Daleria fought for control of her footpaws, only resulting in crashing backwards into Rapieratce, who paced backwards as he caught her. Setting her down on a ground sheet that had hastily been laid out by Longrunn, he ransacked Taremin's prepared pouch, reading the labels that had been stuck onto the various medicines and pulling out something that would help. Hurrying over, the waved an anxious paw in front of Daleria's face, popping something into her mouth. 

'Chew Dale. Just chew.' 

The captain somehow managed to register the fact into her head, chewing slowly as she gave in to the blackness, unable to take the throbbing very much longer. A sharp shake brought her back into reality. Rapieratce's face slowly swam into a blurred kind of focus, and Daleria could distantly hear him talking sharply to her in worry. 

'Don't close your eyes, Dale, whatever you do, don't! Mossflower knows when you'll wake up if you do!' 

Slowly the blackness receded, and Daleria breathed slowly as her vision was finally restored to her. Remora and Longrunn were also by her side, as well as all the other hares save for those on sentry duty. Pushing herself up, the captain shook her head furiously to clear the fuzzy images that clouded her mind. Groaning, she held her still throbbing head in a one shaking paw. 

'Sergeant, you know that I am going to kill you for this the second we get back.' 

Longrunn looked at her angrily. 

'This is not the time, captain. You are already falling victim to the poison.' 

'Lighten up, 'Runn. I'll survive one way or another. Once I get the matter straight that 'Atce over here had one head and not three.' 

Shrewdly gazing at the captain, Rapieratce frowned disapprovingly. 

'Very funny, captain. Lie back--' 

Suddenly, Daleria pushed him away, rolling in the other direction at the same time as a shaft zipped and struck the sand where to colonel was barely seconds ago. There was shock in the camp for about a split second before the hares sprang into action. Seemingly, the travelling band of vermin happened to be on the other end of the camp, away from the vermin horde. The others were already charging them as Daleria struggled to rise. Muttering, she got up on shaky paws as she unsheathed her sabre bravely, 

'Those blinkin vermin always choose the worst blinkin times!' 

After running forward and slaying the first few vermin and reaching the head vermin after much dodging and ducking, everything ground to a complete standstill. The leader of the roving band screeched for a stop as he held a bow with an arrow notched and taunt tight as Daleria's sabre strayed dangerously close to his neck vein. 

'Stop! All ya scraggy hares, stop!' 

Everybeast stopped, but Daleria scowled venomously at him. The vermin snarled into her face. 

'Make one move, you rabbit, and yon big un over there won't live to see another day!' 

Daleria followed his train of sight and saw Rapieratce directly in the firing range of the bow. The captain nearly loosened the grip on her sabre as her heart skipped a beat. Growling, she only pressed her sabre further. 

'One more move, rabbit! Now put the sabre down!' 

To prove his point, he pulled the arrow back even further. Daleria saw she was cornered with no option. She could not endanger Rapieratce like that. Daleria found that she was falling for her conscience's idea. Not that she was minding right then. The captain cursed herself. Glowering, she made a move to put the sabre down. Rapieratce glared at Daleria just as she did, growling fiercely as he held a vermin at rapier point, not moving at all. 

'Don't do it.' 

Staying her paw, Daleria shot the colonel a troubled and confused look, intermixed with light anger and immense worry. Both hers and Rapieratce's consciences high fived. Their little plan was working. The two of them were hopeless. Stubborn, yes, but they were giving in. It was only a matter of time. Daleria's paw trembled in uncertainty. What on Mossflower was he thinking? The colonel ignored her totally, only gritting his teeth as the stoat at his side inched his cutlass to his throat and pressed it. Turning to face the vermin, she decided that a bargain had to be made. With Remora aiming at the vermin leader who was aiming at the colonel, who was being held hostage by another stoat while holding a rat hostage, who was aiming a bow at Daleria, who was holding the leader hostage, the situation was a tricky one, no mistake at all. Snarling without remorse, she said, not holding back in showing the distaste she had for the vermin' leader. She was making a shaky proposal that she highly doubted that the vermin leader would refuse. 

'Tell you what, vermin, we go, one on one. Winner take all.' 

The rat leader grinned with fanged teeth. This was going to be a piece of cake. Some wussy female rabbit would post no problem to his immaculate history of slaying with blades and such. Nodding, he slowly put down the bow, signalling to the other vermin to keep their arms down and move away to make space. The hares did the same at the nod from the colonel, but paws were all on hilts all the same. No party trusted the other the faintest bit, having made truce only to see the outcome of the play of blades. High alert was all about the area, and suspicious glances were thrown everywhere. 

Longrunn swore that Daleria was insane. She was weak, tired, sick, and yet she was still playing around with vermin and blades. So throw in the fact that she was second in swordplay only to Rapieratce, but that was a small matter. Fine, so maybe she really _was_ one of the best at swordplay on the mountain, but she had never gone one on one against a vermin that probably had seasons more of experience compared to her. This was different, very much so, than the conventional practice session. The sergeant made a mental note to reprimand her if she got out of the affair alive. In the meantime, he settled with pawing and gripping the hilt of his sabre in heated anxiety. Making a side glance to the colonel, he saw Rapieratce do the same, as that was the only way that he could tell the colonel was actually worried at all, seeing his face was blank and totally clean of all emotion. Turning his head, he returned his attention to the fight before him. 

Rapieratce was worried sick. At some point in time, he found that he had fallen for his heart, but he pushed it away. All he knew was that Daleria had just committed what must have been a death sentence to herself for his sake. He cursed his carelessness at being cornered. He forced emotion out of his face to keep it blank, but his mind was pacing back and forth in anxiety. If Daleria slipped up, he did not think he would forgive himself for his mistake. He hated his emotions sometimes. 

Daleria took up the en gard position, watching the vermin leader unsheathe his cutlass. Before she could do or say anything, the rat struck. Only instinct and reflex caused her to swipe her sabre up in a diagonal slash, glancing off the other blade, resulting in a scraping sound. Pushing her blade forward, she thrust and took a swipe. A trail of blood appeared across the rat's shoulders, from the right to the left in a long, thin cut. Scowling in anger and pain, he made a mad swing with the cutlass, the air whistling with the keen blade. Grinning and almost carefree, the hare captain simply side stepped away from him in a fleeting movement, evading the cutlass slash that came her way with eased grace and practised fluidity. Stepping forward, parrying then thrusting, she took the vermin in the right shoulder, drawing even more blood before backing off again, still smiling as if she were a dibbun picking berries. 

'Hard luck, scum! Maybe better luck next time.' 

Growling in provoked anger, the vermin charged forward with all the speed he could manage, and in a glorious clash of metal, took a cut down Daleria's arm, and a deep on at that, only to be rewarded with a slash across the neck that was near fatal. The hare captain lost the happy attitude at once, and made a quick attack with a zig zag double slash, which caught the vermin in the sword paw once before being blocked off the second time. In a skirmishing movement, the angered Daleria hit the cutlass blade on the right, then a dip down and a long draw upwards to the right in a figure of eight movement that few had seen done with such accuracy, sending vibrations down the cutlass blade before flipping it upwards in a well timed downward push on the sabre blade, the final draw pushing it out of the rat's paws. The cutlass skirted away into the sand, leaving the rat disarmed and afraid. He had met his match and his death. Daleria advanced on him, darting away as the rat tried to throw sand at her, ducking before neatly tripping him up. Standing above him, she snarled to him, putting more emotion in her lines than she herself had expected. She cursed herself for letting her conscience trick her into... Daleria once again reprimanded herself, but continued. 

'You pushed the line too far. You should have never taken your bow, nor threatened those that you did not know. What may come of it might result in others coming after you blood, which will be spilled. You should have stayed away. Perhaps your useless and worthless life and rabble would have stayed a little longer. The Long Patrol are to be reckoned with consideration and respect, things that your revolting rabble have naught at all. Be thankful that you did not fire that arrow, or you life would have left you less swiftly, and pain would have been your friend. For that I can guarantee you, for I would be the only delivering it to you. Fate has been good to you that orders have been given to make this affair clean.' 

All in company turned their heads away and grimaced as a long swipe across the throat took the rat. Daleria took the cutlass as threw it away in disgust. The rest of the vermin, cowardly and leaderless, were easily dispatched by the hares, who all sprang into immediate action after the rat was done in. All who tried to flee were taken down by the returning Major Glamoren, who reported the area clear save for some sentries, all of which were far away, but widespread. 

Nodding grimly, the colonel set about the task of finding the captain, who seemed to have disappeared the moment the battle had ceased. He was, however, still in shell shock about the words she had spoken with such venom. Maybe there was hope yet. 

_Curse you, confounded conscience!_

_HAH! You admit it then. You love her, don't you?_

_I admitted no such thing._

_Nice try, 'Atce. I see your heart as clearly as you do._

_She would never accept it even if I did._

_Really? Then explain to me what had happened just now?_

_Ask Daleria, not me._

_Hopeless, 'Atce, you are. Own up._

_No._

_Coward._

The colonel pushed his thoughts away, beating his conscience with a imaginary stick to fend it off. He found her rummaging around in her pack for a bandage while trying to block away the sergeant's voice. Longrunn was standing beside her, looking very disapproving. 

'You shouldn't have taken such a foolhardy risk, captain.' 

'Go away, sergeant. What matters is that the affair is over and done with already.' 

'The rat had more experience than you by far! You were lucky you got out of the scrape alive. It was a very close call, Dale. Your sword arm is bleeding heavily already.' 

'I know, 'Runn, why do you think I'm looking in my pack for? You could at least help.' 

The colonel moved forward with the herb pack, joining the conversation smoothly. 

'He's right, you know, Dale. You took a very big risk there.' 

Daleria looked sharply up at him, binding the wound and securing the bandage tightly, 

'You took an even greater one, sah! Getting yourself cornered was not a very good idea, 'Atce. I had to do it for your sake.' 

Shaking his head and smiling slightly, Rapieratce put the herb bag away and helped the captain stand up. The captain cursed herself as she felt herself fall again. 

_WHY does he have to smile like that? It's absolutely heart wrenching. And his eyes. His stupid green eyes._

A sudden sing song voice appeared in head. 

_You saiiidd it! I toold you! See! You love him!_

_Shut you obscene mental mouth._

_You do, face it._

_So what if I do? He would not feel the same._

_No? Then what happened between you two all these times? All the advice, the comfort and peace he has brought you?_

_No comment._

_HAH._

'You did not have to Dale. You were not exactly very smart in nearly putting down your blinkin sabre as well.' 

'What do you mean? I thought you were insane, telling me not to put it down. The rat could have taken you down at any time.' 

The colonel disagreed though, and began to argue back. 

'Not true. He was standing behind me. One draw would have brought both the rat and the stoat down.' 

Muttering under her breath, Daleria knew that he had beaten her there. Wiping her sabre blade clean on a dead weasel's tunic, she sheathed the steel and rightened herself properly and scowled at Rapieratce, not liking to be beaten at an argument, even a petty one such as that. 

'Next time, I should just let them have you, 'Atce.' 

Laughing, his green eyes sparkled in mirth. 

'Right, I'm sure you will, m'gel.' 

Glowering, she shoved him into a mound of loose sand before turning tail and fleeing as fast as she could, laughing at him at safer distance as the particles of sand flew everywhere, showering those in the near vicinity. 

'Very funny, Dale!' 

Glaring in mock anger at the still laughing Daleria, Rapieratce got up and dusted his sand covered fur off, sending sand flying around even more. Rubbing some stray particles out of his eyes, he chose to ignore her insane chuckling from across the camp, settling instead to talk with the returned Glamoren after sending a glare at the captain. Daleria only laughed louder at his reaction. 

Moving to sit next to Sergeant Longrunn, she chatted with him and Dallaw for a while before tiring of conversation and laying out her ground sheet. After removing her sabre and sheathe and laying them close to paw as she always did, she lay back on the sheet, rested her head on her paws and looked up into the star studded navy blue sky. The sun had already long set after all the action, and the cold was beginning to kick in full force once again, but Daleria for one did not seem to mind or care the slightest. For a while, she was content just lying there, not moving and watching the full moon standing there, wavering slightly across the black background. In the back of her mind, her conscience told her to get some rest for the long march that would come the next day, but Daleria chose to blissfully ignore it and kept her eyes open. The crackling fire nearby, the quiet, the cool and the sky melded into a comfortable atmosphere that she was reluctant to leave behind. But eventually, the scene faded away, slowly dissolving and she then slipped gently away into the recesses of sleep. 

Four hours later, she was shook awake by Longrunn to take her watch. Yawning and stretching slightly, she picked up her blade and walked to her position, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she went. Standing there, she only heard the soft sounds of wind and the occasional shuffle of one of the hares behind her in camp. Still, she kept her senses alert and her vigilance high, eyes roving the area and scanning her surroundings. Seasons of training paid off well. 

For neigh half an hour, nothing stirred, and Daleria just stood there patiently waiting. One of the reasons she was waiting more patiently than she usually would was the fact that pay back to the colonel was in clear sight. He was the next on watch. The possibilities of how to wake him were endless, and Daleria wanted to give each scheme equal thought. It was helping to push other thoughts about Rapieratce away. Score one to conscience, score one to Daleria. Another half hour passed, and she was just about to turn and wake the slumbering Rapieratce when a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Sharply turning her head and focusing on the area, she saw a hint of movement. Daleria wasted no time in accessing the matter, slipping silently away from her post. On closer inspection, there was a hedge of shrubbery where she had detected the slight movement. Quietly pacing along the hedge, she reached behind and grabbed the beast who was hiding there. It was a black fox, seemingly from Seppak's horde and patrol. 

Snarling, Daleria knocked the sword out of the stunned vermin's paw before dragging the shocked beast by the scruff back towards the patrol, kneeing the fox hard in the stomach in the process when he started struggling against her. Her grip was relentless, and red welts and scratch marks appeared on the fox's skin as she half lugged half dragged the beast back towards camp, not caring what he went through. Daleria managed to drag the black fox all the way to Rapieratce's side before dumping the beast down like he was rubbish. When the fox tried to scramble up, holding his stomach in pain, she dealt it a swift, hard and cruel kick in the ribs, sending it crashing back down into the sand, bleeding, groaning and clutching his ribcage in pain. No mercy showed on the hare captain's face at the sight. She looked ready to repeat the process when Rapieratce jumped up and pulled her back from the fox, who was by them writhing in agony, paws bloody. The colonel looked absolutely furious at her. Green eyes blazing, he signalled for Glamoren to finish off the job before pulling Daleria aside away from the camp. His voice was trembling in near unconcealed rage. 

'Dale! Wot on Mossflower has got into you?' 

Daleria stood defiant, offhandedly commenting. 

'The thing deserved no better.' 

'No better?! Daleria, that fox was still a living creature, whether you wish to admit it to yourself or not, you know it is true. You could have made it clean and put him out of misery instead of inflicting cruelty as you just did. Let it go, Daleria, you cannot blame the fox for what happened to Clandestine, nor to what is happening in your life. He was not part of it.' 

Daleria's temper was starting to make its famed reappearance. 

'Not blame that fox? How can I not? He was part of Seppak's horde. That is reason enough for me to hate him. Then tell me, why did not the vermin act that way to my family and to me? Why did they not simply have killed me swiftly and spared my family that night instead of doing to damage they did? I am only giving them what they brought upon themselves. They are reaping only what they had sown before.' 

'Daleria. Stop acting like some kind of uncivilized, crazed madbeast who is looking blindly for revenge.' 

Daleria turned her head away and ignored him. Rapieratce looked at her half pleadingly and half angrily, torn between acting like a sympathizing friend and a commanding senior officer. He thoroughly hated being trapped in those kind of situations. 

'You are pushing things very far, captain. Stop acting wilfully. You cannot have everything your way.' 

Daleria closed her eyes in momentary pain, and anger was flashing through them when they reopened. Her tone was cold, more so than she would have actually preferred in the first place. 

'You, Rapieratce, know not what goes on in my head. You never lost what I did, and you cannot say how I feel and how I will act. I will not show pity to scum which took my last family away from me! You never spent a good part of seven seasons lost in the dark of confusion, fear and sorrow, have you? You never saw what it was like to' 

Rapieratce shook his head. 

'Let not anger conquer you, Dale. What you did was unacceptable, even if it were to vermin.' 

'What, then, would you do in my place?' 

Sighing at her in frustration, the colonel strained his patience and gave her as good counsel as he could. 

'I cannot say, Daleria, for I am not you. I cannot see what you went through, nor what it would have been like in my place, for I was trained from the beginning, and my family was not as close close to me as yours must have been. I already lost my mentor and father to me in the last battle, and all I want now is to make sure I do not loose anybeast else. The loss has been great, and I do not wish to increase it if I could. All I know is that I do not wish to show inane cruelty, for I do not want to let anger and revenge pollute my mind. The sorrow of the lost of loved ones is one thing, and so is revenge, but when one pushes things too far, one can be as bad as the enemy. I do not wish for it to be that way in your case. Just next time, make the affair clean, please.' 

Daleria looked up at him and sighed, dropping down to his ground sheet and sitting down heavily. 

'I guess you're right, colonel, as always. I never could understand why I act the way I do sometimes. It's just so difficult to keep myself under control sometimes. Just all that time alone, maybe...' 

Rapieratce sat down next to her for a moment. 

'Really? You're not alone anymore.' 

Daleria looked up at him sharply. 

'What do you mean?' 

Rapieratce laughed softly at himself, wondering at his cowardice at his inability to admit things to others, finally giving in to his conscience. He spoke quietly. 

'Nothing, Dale, absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. I've got sentry duty. Go to sleep, captain, good night.' 

Rapieratce stood up, grabbing his rapier, and moved up to his post, but Daleria caught up with him. Her conscience had been persistent, and Daleria had given in to it. Somehow, the captain knew it had to happen sooner or later, one way or the other. Something told her she would. There was just something about Rapieratce. Her conscience knew that Rapieratce had too, and that he was slipping up, and thus snapped up at the opening and forced Daleria forward. This was their chance, if any. 

'It isn't 'nothing', 'Atce, both you and I know that. Don't even try to pretend, I know you far too well to fall for that excuse. Besides, I do not feel too sleepy right now.' 

Rapieratce said nothing, simply scanning the area for any sign of anybeast. Daleria glared at him. After a moment, the colonel sighed and looked over to the unmoving captain. 

'You will not be giving up until I tell you, will you?' 

'No.' 

'What was I expecting...' 

After another glare from the captain, Rapieratce stopped fooling around. Shrugging, he simply said. 

'I'm not too sure myself, Dale. It's just something about my conscience.' 

Daleria looked up at him. The colonel looked back. 

'Your conscience, 'Atce?' 

'Somewhat, Dale.' 

'And what is it saying?' 

Rapieratce's heart stopped for a moment. His thoughts went frantic as he searched for an appropriate answer to the captain's question. His ever helpful conscience appeared right on cue. 

_Tell her, 'Atce. Just tell her._

_I don't think she'll react to it very well. She is Daleria, after all._

_You never know until you try, 'Atce._

Softly, he muttered under his breath, almost inaudibly. 

'I really don't know Dale. Something about me loving you.' 

_Took the plunge at last, I see. I thought you never would, after all the delaying you did._

_Dale's not going to accept this well. She's going to murder me, of that I am quite sure._

Daleria's brain stalled when she heard what Rapieratce had just said. Her conscience was smirked at her in accomplishment. 

_TOLD YOU!_

_Did he just say what I thought..._

_Yes he did, you fool!_

Daleria looked up at him. Rapieratce's green eyes looked extremely troubled, as if he felt he should have just kept quiet and not said anything to her. Daleria questioned him quietly. 

'And would you mean it?' 

Rapieratce looked down to her. 

'Would you?' 

Daleria looked at him for a moment. 

'Yes, I would, if you would too. But I would take it slowly, a bit at a time.' 

'Then so would I.' 

Relief washed over both of them like a tidal wave. Rapieratce smiled at her laughingly and kissed the top of her forehead lightly. Daleria let him. In that moment, she was happy. Completely happy for the first time in a long while, and she cherished the feeling, perfectly content. 

'There might be hope for you and me yet, Dale. At least now I know that I was not the only person being plagued by over infectious consciences which do not give up.' 

Daleria glared at him. 

'I blame it fully on you, 'Atce. You and your confounded green eyes.' 

'Speak for yourself. You're distracting me. I'm on duty.' 

'Fine! You can freeze to death all you want. I'm going to sleep.' 

'I thought you said you weren't sleepy, Dale.' 

'I lied. Good night.' 

* 

They had made it. In a single day of incredibly hard marching in boiling weather, they had made it. There they were, concealed by a large, conveniently positioned sand dune, right beside a vermin horde that would have made any lesser creatures faint. A thousand, maybe more, or less, foxes, mostly black, were spread out before them. What was so incredibly scary was how the silence, the organization, the total picture that was laid before them, totally betrayed the stereotype vermin. It was intimidating. What made matters even worse was the fact that the five hostages were, by pure chance, kept there as well, and yet there was nothing that they could do to help them due to their strict orders. It was tormenting, seeing it all. 

Daleria stood still surveying the plane of foxes, taking in the mind bowling scene in quiet fury. Upon closer inspection, Daleria discovered that Cosenet's arm had been slashed badly, and furthermore Willow's ribcage was seen to be hastily wrapped up, meaning the breaking of a rib. The captain winced at the thought, silently feeling incredibly guilty and sorry for all that had happened up to date, but felt still an undeniable anger and hatred towards the entire scene before her. The one responsible would pay in a most appropriate manner thinkable. Remora, Longrunn and Rapieratce strode up beside her after, all surveying the scene of black with grim faces. Twitching a ear at the sight, Longrunn commented, 

'We're in a jolly good fix, wot! Lookit the main tent, 'tis way over the other side. Nearly beyond our reach, out in the open!' 

Rapieratce nodded his agreement as he lifted his eyes to scan the upper side of the vermin horde, spying that a tent larger than the others had been erected at the far end of the camp, away from any hills or sand dunes of any sort, totally out in the open and unconcealed. That made matters even worse than they already were. That meant a treacherous movement of the four of them across the entire vermin camp that night, accompanied by swift dispatching and as much stealth as they could manage. That fact only added to the colonel's already immense worry. The entire operation was not going to be an easy one by far. Things were already rocky here, and he did not want to think about the consequences if they were found out or reported by any single vermin. The scum had only need be lucky once. They had to be lucky all the time. Running a paw through his ears in stress, Rapieratce jabbed his paw at a few positions, rambling off observations. 

'Sentries are probably bound to be posted around there,' 

He pointed at vague area that faced the mountain, 

'there,' 

He pointed at an area towards the other, westward end of the camp, 

'and there.' 

He waved at the area directly before them. 

'If we are going to execute this operation tonight, according to the Lady's precise orders, we must as well make a bally quick, clean sweep of the entire affair. If we get found out in any way, there is going to be massacre on both sides, something that we cannot have at any rate right now. War will break out before time, and we are to avoid that at all costs. Furthermore, there might be no hope in attaining a cure to Dale's ailment after that, if the cure be lost in the mess. There will be no interference in any other matter in any way, including,' 

There he paused and looked meaningfully over at Daleria, who he knew would take action in one way or another if not restrained. The captain had chosen to ignore him there, but smiled slightly remembering the night before. 

'Trying in any way to help those five out, even if the chance throws itself in our face and rams us on the blinkin head with a battle axe. I wish we could, but Consellariel had some bally specific blinkin orders not to. What matters is that we get the bally blinkin herb or wotever and get ourselves out of this before anything ends up worse than it began.' 

Remora nodded in quiet agreement, though there was a great sadness in her voice as she spoke aloud. The brigadier had her own misgivings about the matter, as every other beast did. 

'What will become of these five, then? I mean, if we don't save them sah, who will?' 

Rapieratce sighed angrily at the entire complexity of it all, his temper momentarily flaring up in one of his rare states of intrusion of emotion. 

'That's the bally flippin problem! We are here simply to obey the blinkin badger lady, not overrule her orders or sommat like that. I don't know what Consellariel's been cooking up in that mind of hers, but if there isn't a plan to save those five... All I know is that we cannot do anything in that situation if she does not come up with something to solve this blinkin matter.' 

The thought of something like that alone was distinctly horrible and gory. Consellariel would never leave the five to Seppak's cruelty, would she...? Daleria hastily banished the idea from her head. The badger lady of Salamandastron was not some cold hearted beast that would do such a preposterous thing like that. Doubt, however, was also making an appearance in her head. 

'Couldn't we jus--' 

Her sentence was immediately cut off by Rapieratce. His voice was grim and the captain knew that he would be brooking no foolish argument in the matter, affection for her or no. 

'When the badger lady says no, you know that she means it, Dale. There is nothing we can do, no matter how much we wish we could.' 

Daleria sighed in resignment, knowing that Rapieratce was back in his state of listening and obeying. There was no way she was going to get past him and try anything foolish or silly in this operation. There was silence for a while, each hare being enveloped in his or her own personal thoughts towards the issue, Longrunn with foreboding, Remora with sadness, Rapieratce with great stress and worry, and Daleria with hate and desperation. Suddenly, a soft scream broke the quiet. Four pairs of eyes flew down towards the scene below. Willow was to be seen being whipped by Seppak's blade. Daleria immediately snapped up and was about to take a move forward when Rapieratce grabbed her arm. His green eyes flashed in pain from seeing the sight. 

'Don't. I wish I could let you, but don't.' 

Daleria shut her eyes. No. They could not just leave the five down there. Not while the bloodthirsty fox called Seppak was working his evil against them. It simply was not right. After all had been said and done, it should be her down there, not Willow and the rest, all who had no serious involvement in this matter. She did not know how she managed it, probably part because of the current force on her arm and part because of a considerable amount of will power, but she managed to take one, painful step back from the horrible scene and turn her back to it. Her shoulders shook, but Daleria still refused to let herself go. No tears showed through her black eyes, only an incredible hardness that seemed unwilling to break anytime soon. There was clearly no way that Daleria was going to let anything make her shed tear anytime soon, as anybeast could most obviously see. Silent, she took forced, shaky steps away from the lookout position. Vaguely in the background, Longrunn could be heard holding a whispered conference with the colonel and brigadier, but right then Daleria could not have cared if they were talking about flying tadpoles or if Seppak had turned into a pink bunny rabbit. All she knew was that what was happening then should not have been happening. Not to those that were currently at the unyielding cruelty and terror of the black fox. 

_It shouldn't happen to them. They've done nothing wrong. I should be down there... I can't just let them..._

_There's nothing you can do, Dale._

_Nothing I can do? What have I already **done**? Look. Evidence of my doing is sprawled before us._

_It's not your fault._

_Not my fault? Surely I have gone mad to even think it that way._

Back at the lookout, the three senior hares were talking rapidly in hushed tones. The sergeant was conversing rapidly with the colonel and Remora about their plan. 

'I suppose that now is not the best bally time to do it, sah?' 

'No, it most definitely is not. My proposition at this blinkin time is that we take a loop over to the furthest hills on the north end, close enough to monitor both the main tent and the bally hostages. At the next possible opportunity, we move in. But we have to keep a low profile. No vermin from the horde may be taken down, or suspicion will be sure to be aroused. This time, we flee before we fight. Keep everything low. No fires, no unpacking. We make as if we were on march.' 

The brigadier nodded her agreement with the colonel's proposed plan. 

'Yessah, the idea strikes as a good one.' 

By now, Major Glamoren had wandered over to the three conversing officers, having overheard all that had been said between them. He stood at the lookout, commenting. 

'Not a nice situation to be in, wot? The position ain't the blinkin best one that I've seen in my seasons, and that young gel over there ain't looking like the brightest I've ever seen.' 

Rapieratce followed Daleria sadly with his eyes. The captain had sat down and seemed to be deep in thought. He felt incredible pity and sadness for her. 

'No, she is not, Moren, not by a long shot. Daleria has been through a lot blinkin more than most. It is bally amazing her will is still going strong, wot. Any lesser beast would have crumbled down by now. The poor gel. By Mossflower, things couldn't be very much worse for her than they currently are right now. I wish she'd just lighten up sometimes...' 

Longrunn also shared Rapieratce's sad view of Daleria. 

'That gel... Mossflower knows what she's going through right now...' 

The brigadier also had to agree, no matter how much she had wished that the other three were wrong in their description of the young captain. 

'That 'un's young for a captain. Maybe promoting her wasn't the best idea that the lady ever had. It almost seems a bit much for the poor thing.' 

Rapieratce started to make his way back to the camp, the rest following him not far behind. 

'Well, if Dale is finding being a captain very much different from being a patroller, she's having a jolly good time concealing it.' 

Longrunn chuckled in spite of himself. 

'True, sah. By m'fur, Dale couldn't care if you were a lieutenant or a badger lord or lady. I doubt she'd notice the difference.' 

Remora dryly commented from Longrunn's side. 

'But I reckon that Daleria will still recognize you after this has all blown over. I think that your head is still on her wanted list.' 

Longrunn raised his paws over his head in defeat. 

'I swear I didn't mean to do it marm! It's not my fault that captain stopped so abruptly. I couldn't help myself!   
Rapieratce laughed as they reached the camp. 

'Dale harms anybeast in range if they annoy her. I still have a sore rib or two to prove that point.' 

Longrunn nodded his agreement, but changed the subject after that. 

'Besides that, I'm betting m'fur there's something going on betwixt her and 'Atce over here.' 

Rapieratce shot a glare at Longrunn. 

'And what would make you think so?' 

Glamoren laughed at his partner. 

'Don't even _try_ to lie, 'Atce. I was not exactly asleep after the fox last night.' 

Rapieratce shut his mouth, refusing to comment. Remora grinned at him. 

'There _is_, isn't there, sah?' 

'Maybe.' 

Glamoren laughed at him again. 

'One day, 'Atce, you'll learn how to lie properly. Until then, I cannot find hope for you.' 

'Quiet yourself, 'Moren. Besides, even if I did, Dale would never fail to murder me if I annoyed her beyond her limits.' 

From beside him, a voice that could only belong to Daleria appeared as the captain herself popped up beside him. She had eradicated herself of even showing distress, and was casually chewing on an apple that she had retrieved from her pack while they were occupied. Before Rapieratce could react to her appearance, she said, 

'I heard that, 'Atce!' 

As if to prove her point, she stuck a footpaw in right front of the walking colonel, and watched, laughing in satisfaction, as he fell over onto the ground. Moaning, Rapieratce picked himself up and dusted himself off of any sand. Longrunn could not help but snigger, and Remora was grinning openly. Glamoren watched on in amusement at his ex-partner, who was currently sprawled on the ground. 

'First time I've seen you fall over that easily, 'Atce.' 

'Ah, go away Moren. As for you, Dale, do you have to continue torturing me by shoving me into the sand at every available opening?' 

Grinning mischievously at the distressed colonel, Daleria retorted back at him. 

'If you prefer the rock floor, 'Atce, I would only be most happy to comply.' 

'Dale!' 

* 

Rapieratce decided to ignore the captain, and retreated to tell the others of the latest outcome and planning. Daleria sighed heavily. Life was not helping her out in the least at that moment. She was struggling desperately to stay upright and keep her hopes up, but the captain could not help but wonder if she would be going, sinking down in the end. Daleria felt she already had. Everything was so confusing, she felt that she was simply stepping, running blindly in the dark without knowing where she wanted to go to in the first place. She somehow felt weary, even though she had slept well enough. But it still was as if there was a weight on her, in her very blood, and something screamed at the back of her head to fix something, though it did not say what. It was almost as bad as living in a nightmare gone wrong. Everything rebounded back at you when you tried to ward it away. Some hopeless feeling was all that existed inside, nothing else. The bright light of hoping and wishing had exhausted long ago, burnt up in a smouldering concoction that withered and faded away as it crumbled into a dusty ash before her eyes. The weight on her heart expanded to her soul, and it took all her energy to simply keep going on, to keep her head up high and her eyes off the ground and catch onto her own life and cling to it before she let it slip away in oblivion. How she wanted to let go, after all that she had loss and misplaced, destroyed and ruined in the short space of ten seasons. Daleria wanted to fall on her knees and weep. She wanted so badly to lie back and simply let tears trickle down her face, to let herself go completely and loose herself to the blackness all around her, to run away to the recesses in her mind that hid away and did not come out in the miserable light of day. She wanted to crawl away on all fours and lay back to fade away into sweet oblivion, run away and never come back. Yet when she thought of doing that, fear struck her in her heart. Afraid of loosing what miserable little that she still had then in what remained in the scraps of her life. Fear, that acute, relentless, absolute fear of change. Everything had already lost footing, and all that had held meaning in her foolish life slipped away into an endless black hole. Afraid that she would never able to live how she wanted to live after all of this was over. Pain never scared her. Change did. Yet it seemed to plague her in an endless stream, refusing to move away, time and again, coming back to attack her vulnerable self. Woe it was that she could do nothing to help herself. Pity never got anybeast anywhere, and she most unfortunately knew that was true. Daleria refused to pity herself. She refused to let out all that she had kept inside for so long. Not because she would not. Only because she could not. Maybe, in time, she would be able to open up to Rapieratce. But she was taking things slowly. Things were too new to her, and she did not want to rush things. And she could tell Rapieratce did not want to either, and for that she was thankful. He always gave her room to breath, and she was grateful for that. Maybe, just maybe, the colonel might be able to turn things around. Daleria had already gone to him on many various occasions for advice and counsel, and so far, the colonel had never let her down nor been insensitive. He knew that he had to back off when he had to, and Daleria was relieved she would have somebeast to turn to. But the darkness was still there. It pertained and existed, and she knew that it would not be disappearing any time soon. Yet Daleria would have to face it, but could she conquer it? It was so difficult, so complex, so strange... So confusing and so sorrowful. The dark was there. 

'Dale? Dale!' 

The captain was brought back to the present by a frantic paw being waved in front of her face. Sergeant Longrunn shook her slightly. Daleria looked strangely wistful and faraway to him, and she looked as if she was about to walk away muttering to herself if nobeast were to stop her from doing so. The sergeant was really starting to worry about her. Maybe the affair in the cell really did hit her harder than he had expected it to. Ever since that she had seemed to have zoned out, quietened a slight bit though not obviously, and placed a barrier between herself and everybeast else. It was scaring him. Maybe the young one really had been scarred more than he thought she had. Finally, after a little more violent pushing on his part, the captain finally slipped out of her reverie, to his utmost relief. Her response was less than alert though. 

'What? Oh. Longrunn.' 

'Dale? Are you feeling all right, m'gel? You look... pale.' 

Looking up at him ,as if puzzled, the captain blinked once with an absurdly blank look on her troubled face. Shaking her head slightly, she replied slowly. Daleria still looked as if she were in some kind of daze and was yet to snap out of it, though, and by then Longrunn was looking severely worried about her. 

'Me? No. I'm fine, I assure you.' 

'Maybe you should go sit down...' 

The captain nodded slowly, still looking withdrawn and preoccupied. 

'Right.' 

Moving away slowly, Daleria left Longrunn to himself and tottered off to her ground sheet, where she simply lay down and looked at the darkening sky with a blank look on her face, a odd glint in her unfocused eyes that scared Longrunn slightly. He absent mindedly mused to himself. 

_That gel... She looks ready to give up at any bally moment, not that anybeast would blame her for what she has had to go through... We should a keep a helping hand out for that 'un... Let her be all right, for her bloomin' sake. The blinkin captain looks absurdly fragile from this point of view. She looks as if she would break at any blinkin time, wot. Why won't she come to terms that we will always be here to lean back on? She has friends jolly well all around her, each and every one of us is a friend to her. And yet she seems so bally afraid to allow us to help her. So afraid to leave her blinkin independence alone and lean back on others for some bally assistance. It's almost as if she's scared that we will slip away just like... Like the major. Woe to that day! I think that she had better hope for recovery from her escapade those seasons before when Clandestine was around. Those two were inseparable in the bally short time that Clandestine was around. To think about it, Clandestine was the only blinkin one she actually allowed herself to let go and lean back upon... And then she fell, and everything crashed back down on the poor gel. Just like her family, wot. Maybe she's afraid that if she depends on us overly so, that we will all blinkin fade away as well. She needs help, that un. If only she would accept it. Well, now that Rapieratce's come along, maybe she'll recover a bit faster. Yes. Rapieratce will help the gel through, if any of us can. He has to._

Longrunn hoped against all hope that they would all get back to the mountain intact. In mind and in body. 

* 

Seppak the Black was once again tormenting his hostages, nearly to the point of breaking, but never pushing them overboard. Withdrawing a thin cutlass like blade, the midnight black fox grabbed Willow by the scruff of her neck, his claws biting painfully into her skin. Oblivious was he to her pained screams as he shook her ruthlessly, directly in front of Cosenet, Tehora, Mealiney and Silecy for all to see. Willow screamed in agony as her broken ribs were jolted about, only the strange, disgusting concoction that some of his healers had forced down her throat somehow saved her. Medicine or no, it still hurt. A lot. But the black one did not stop there. Cosenet could only watch in silent and tormented horror as her partner was whipped by the fox's blade. After three whippings, Willow was wavering in between painful, dreadful consciousness and the bliss of delirious unconsciousness, bleeding heavily and looking extremely mangled. She had no more will to even scream, resorting to whimpering helplessly as the pain spread like a wildfire, burning painfully, as she was unable to escape the stabbing pain all over. Seppak's face was blank without mercy though, only shaking the galloper even more, partially choking her and near ripping through her coat. Simply dangling the galloper off the ground, Seppak turned to the horrified quartet before him, asking in a deceptively soft tone as he watched them watch blood drip of Willow and dribble down onto the sand. 

'Now, does anybeast want to give me any information?' 

Even in her near delirious state, Willow took enough courage and pure nerve and perseverance to speak in a hoarse, pain riddled voice. 

'Don.. Don't... te... ll.. tell.. hii.. hiim.. Don't! We... caa... can't... give... Daal... Dale... Up... No!' 

Cosenet held her useless arm tightly as Seppak kneed her close friend in the stomach, causing her to scream out again, blood dripping from her mouth in a small trickle, as he dropped her in a small, whimpering, writhing heap on the bloodstained sand. The galloper bit her lip. Tehora looked on the scene grimly, hiding her horrified expression to herself. The only way they could tell the captain was shocked was by her ashen face, which had drained away. Mealiney had looked away, unable to stand the sight before her, choking back tears. Silecy edged slowly backwards on the sand, unable to believe what was happening, closing her eyes and trying to blot out the screams and scenes that flashed before her very eyes. If any of them would have answered Seppak in the first place, they were all too shocked and disbelieving to have done so anyway. After several moments of unresponsive silence, Seppak's patience wore off, and after wiping his blade on her tunic, he kicked Willow backwards as she writhed in agony, sending her crashing back in a bloody heap next to Cosenet. Snarling with dangerously sharp fangs, he warned. 

'If you do not answer, I warn all of you, none of you will ever walk back into Salamandastron intact. If you even make it to Salamandastron. That badger lady of yours can be more heartless than you think.' 

Cosenet screamed at him. 

'Never! Lady Consellariel would never do that! Liar!' 

Seppak grinned at her. 

'You may choose not to believe it, but you never know. Badgers are unpredictable creatures...' 

With that closing statement, the Cruel One walked away, leaving Cosenet near in tears, trying to revive the still alive but unconscious Willow. 

* 

Daleria winced as if in pain as she heard numerous screams coming from Seppak's horde, willing herself to ignore them and instead to make a move over towards Rapieratce, who was conversing with Glamoren, who had put off his scout report until then due to what had occurred before. The conversation was quite an odd yet interestingly humorous one. 

'What did you say you found? A mole, y'say?' 

'Yessah!' 

'A mole? Out here in the middle of nowhere? Are you sure?' 

'Yessah!' 

'Ah, 'Moren, stop acting all strung up, for Mossflower's sake! You've been my partner for, wot, neigh ten bally seasons already! You need not keep on calling me sah!' 

The major grinned at him. 

'Yessah!' 

Rapieratce gave him a playful shove backwards, coincidentally sending him off balance, and before he could notice, directly falling onto the approaching Daleria. The colonel froze at the sight of her, slowly edging away from the death glare that she was sending his way as she pushed Glamoren off. Her paw was straying deadly close to her sabre. Too near for comfort. Rapieratce knew that running for his life would be a good option if she managed to get her paws on it. 

'Heh, hello captain. Nice day, wot!' 

Daleria glared at him, picking herself up and dusting herself off. Deciding that she would let him off for the moment, she went on to talk about the mole that Glamoren had stumbled upon. 

'Very funny, sah, but what did the major say about a mole over in these parts?' 

Glamoren piped up to cover for his ex-partner, who was obviously quite high on Daleria's death list and therefore was keeping quiet. Daleria was still perfectly able to murder him with or without feeling for him. It was, after all, he who reported the mole in the first place. He could just see Rapieratce mouthing a thank you to him from the corner of his eye, and resisted the urge to smirk. Daleria managed to instil fear in nearly everybeast when it came to things like these, and even Rapieratce, of all the hares on the mountain, was not an exception by far. 

'Yes, captain. He's over there, with the lieutenant. A seemingly very strange mole. Doesn't talk in that funny accent like most do. From what I heard last, they were conversing on apple crumble, of all the possible things that they could have been talking about, wot.' 

The major pulled a dry face at his statement. Daleria only raised an eyebrow. 

'Apple crumble?' 

'Aye, apple crumble, with apples that, I heard, were grown-' 

Before the major could finish his sentence, Daleria broke in, practically grinning in joy. 

'In an shaft near an underground spring in one of the mole's tunnels, am I not right?' 

Both Major Glamoren and Colonel Rapieratce looked at her in amazement. 

'How did you know?' 

But Daleria was already making her way over to where the mole and Dallaw were talking animatedly. 

'Ruft! Ruft, it's me!' 

The mole, evidently Ruft, turned and looked at Daleria for a moment, a grin spreading over his face. Daleria grinned back at him. Lieutenant Dallaw could only look on in puzzlement. 

'By my fur! It is young Daleria!' 

Rapieratce looked at Daleria. 

'You know him, Dale?' 

Daleria retorted back sarcastically. 

'No, 'Atce, I suppose that after seven seasons in Mossflower alone that I would not have met nor befriended a single creature at all.' 

'Fine, captain, fine! Need not bite my ears off.' 

Grinning up at him, she shot back, waving her sabre under his nose. 

'Do you want me to cut them off then, 'Atce?' 

'Ah, don't tease the poor hare, Daleria!' 

Turning her attention back to Ruft, the captain sheathed her sabre. 

'Oh, you need not worry yourself to bits, Ruft, he more than deserves it.' 

'Captain!' 

Ignoring him, she went on with her conversation. 

'What made you come out of that little underground city of yours? I couldn't find that place if I tried!' 

'Indeed you couldn't, young one. It seems to me, that some warlord of a fox or another had plonked his main tent directly over one of my tunnel entrances, and his horde has helped block of most of the rest save the main and my library entrances. Anyway, that fellow left this liddle lot down when he shoved it downwards into the sand to hide it or something like that. I doubt he knows I even have this.' 

Ruft waved a little package of herbs about in the air. Seeing Daleria's jaw drop open, he inquired. 

'What? Is this some kind of a miracle cure to something or sommat?' 

'In a way, yes!' 

There was immediately a small council, Daleria explaining all that had happened, and what the package probably was. It was worth giving a shot. Ruft smiled. 

'Good thing I didn't throw this beauty away!' 

'Indeed it is, you liddle book mole.' 

Rapieratce was looking rather interested in who the mole was in the first place, having not been thoroughly introduced. Daleria therefore, went on to explain the long story of how Ruft had helped her out on the last leg of her journey all those seasons ago when she first went to Salamandastron, having taken her in and provided shelter and food. He was probably one of the few moles that did not have an accent, having been thoroughly versed in many books and scripts that he collected. His little city underground, that he had tunnelled single pawed with the help of family and friends seasons ago, consisted on well disguised entrances, shafts, windows and even an underground spring that he had struck upon by chance. Now he was in a little trouble, if any of his secret entrances that the horde were covering should be found out, a virtual city of moles would be wiped out for sure. 

'D'you think you could help us, Dale?' 

'After what you've done for me, indeed I do think so... Sah?' 

'Of course, m'gel! The lady would have my head if we didn't help Ruft and his little gang down there. Why don't we just sort out this problem and yours in his home then?' 

Ruft agreed. 

'Better than having the risk of being found out above ground, missy. Let's get down there, and help you fix up this little hallucination problem of yours and maybe we can formulate a plan for mine.' 

* 

Daleria sat drumming her paw on a stone table impatiently, while Rapieratce looked on in amusement, simply sitting back and wearing that annoyingly composed grin on his face. Remora was taking a tour around her new surroundings with the Major and the rest of the patrol, whilst the sergeant was off in the kitchens with Ruft to try and brew up the herb for her, and they were taking their own sweet time in her opinion. The captain had been delighted to return to one of the old places that she had not been able to visit since she became an addition to the Long Patrol, but by now the ecstasy of rediscovering her old surroundings and friends had by then worn off and the normal Daleria had taken up control. After making a very brief introduction of the place to the rest of their company, she had left the curious patrol in the paws of one of her old friends. While waiting, she had retired to one of the places where she had loved to go to and write while she had been there, a small stone table in one of the quieter corners. Rapieratce, not being an overly curious hare of temperament, had decided to follow her away from the noise of the main halls where various creatures of different sorts bustled here and there. It was very much like an underground Redwall, but Rapieratce knew better than to go loosing his head and gallivanting off when he had strict orders to fulfil, no matter that they were in a practical safe haven. Daleria had not been ridden of the poison just as yet. There was still quite a bit to go before she was out of immediate danger, and the colonel was not taking any risks in letting the captain run off alone and have another impromptu attack in one unknown corner. Consellariel would most definitely have his head if he allowed that to happen, and Rapieratce had future plans to live that still needed a head to be attached to his neck in order to become reality. Besides, he enjoyed her company. Daleria stopped drumming the table and looked at him irately. 

'What are you grinning at, sah?' 

Rapieratce chuckled at her annoyance, shaking his head lightly. Daleria had to resist the urge to strangle the look out of his green eyes. 

'Nothing, captain, absolutely nothing at all.' 

Daleria narrowed her eyes at him. 

'Don't say that, sah, you know I know you better than that.' 

'Fine, if you insist. It's just very... Amusing how we came all this way, with all the fighting, quarrelling and whatnot only to amount to the very thing we were squabbling over was to be found by a friend. It's really quite interesting, if you look at it from another point of view, especially considering all the scrapes that we went through. And still after last night, you could still chop my head off without feeling remorse. I might reconsider loving you if you keep doing that, Dale. Also, the look that you are wearing on your face should be painted down, captain. It looks incredibly hilarious.' 

Daleria gave into the urge. The captain lunged straight at the colonel, who rolled gracefully out of the way before she could get to him. The captain grabbed at the backing of a stone chair, of which the chair was most fortunately embedded into the ground, and made a quick swing over both hers and the colonel's stone chair, and very near missing his head as she landed. Not that she would have minded if she had landed on his head. Laughing despite of his situation, Rapieratce simply jumped nimbly backwards as she took a swipe at him, glowering. 

'Nice try, Dale, but I think you know me well enough to remember that I am not a colonel for nothing. I have reflexes as much as you do. Besides, you love me. You can't kill me!' 

Still laughing, he withdrew his rapier. 

'Care to even try, captain?' 

Grinning, the captain took up the challenge, unsheathing her own blade. 

'Would not miss it for the world, sah.' 

Daleria's blade met his with a clash, loud enough to alert quite a number of creatures that were sent scrambling out of their way. A quick jab to the left was calmly repelled by a rapier swipe from below, and a well done overhead strike was sent her way in return. The captain refused to lift her sabre to that call, knowing full well that if she did, Rapieratce would be in prime position to disarm her, instead making a nimbly reverse turn along her sword arm, meeting his blade below rather than by the side. The colonel laughed slightly, not parrying with her but simply lifting his blade away from her sabre. 

'Interesting move, Dale.' 

'Very funny, 'Atce, _very_ funny.' 

Rapieratce did not respond, choosing instead to do a rapid fire of clashing strikes on her right of her blade, which were skilfully deflected by a round curve, signature of Daleria's favourite manner of disarming. Undaunted, he made another curve of his own over Daleria's blade, before pulling off a long draw to the left with a quick turn of his body in a minor flip as he had to veer away from a small mole that was scurrying away, a very hard move to do, yet the colonel had enough skill to pull it off with enough grace to plant his blade directly back onto the captain's. Daleria pulled back slightly before deciding to draw a hasty move right with great momentum. Both, for some reason, did a simultaneous turn, Rapieratce to the left and Daleria to the right, which only resulted in a sabre and rapier meeting in an exceptionally loud clash that echoed through the halls and drew the attention of the returning tour crew, namely Remora, Dallaw, Glamoren and the others. Ridgefur had earlier spotted the battling duo and had rushed off to inform the others. This was one fencing occasion that none of the hares were willing to miss, and had resulted in some of the younger ones practically crashing through the hallways to get to the scene. Daleria grinned as the two blades locked, hilt to hilt. 

'Looks like we've attracted a good bit of attention.' 

'Have we now? I did not notice.' 

Daleria took another risk, pushing her blade away from their locked hilts and taking another reverse turn, but the colonel was not one step behind, making an instant twist with his wrist while engaging in a quick step to the side and striking out to clash with the captain once more, deflecting her blade with a practised paw and amazing fluidity. The two proceeded to step apart and went into a flurry of strikes, though neither missed a pawstep as both rapier and sabre went from left to right and back again. Daleria suddenly made an abrupt step to the left as the colonel took a block against his left side, and made a wide swing to the right that made a full circle as she did a quick pirouette, clashing with Rapieratce's blade as he instinctively made a quick diagonal swipe downwards to guard his back. The colonel did not stay idle for long though. The spectators watched on in silent awe. Glamoren looked on at his ex-partner coolly. 

'That's the colonel for you... Never did let it slip, wot.' 

Remora sat gaping. 

'This, I say, is something you don't see every day.' 

'I should say so. The two would tire each other out if they did.' 

Almost calmly, the colonel parried with her before taking a small thrust forward, locking the tips of their blades together, before pointing his rapier down and executing a twist which involved him pulling his sword paw over his head and a quick but vicious drag that was coupled with a pull outwards. Before Daleria could react, Rapieratce struck with lightning speed, doing a amazing figure of eight at shoulder level before twisting his rapier upwards, then skimming away scott free in a long draw and a double turn to get away from Daleria's spinning blade, successfully disarming her. The sabre jumped out of the captain's paw, adding a perfect finish to a move that was not easily pulled off on the colonel's part. The sabre did a quick twirl in the air before embedding itself point first in the ground. Daleria glowered at him and retrieved it, not used to being beaten at her trade. Of course, Rapieratce had not been beaten by anybeast in history yet, but it did not mean that Daleria could not start to try. 

'Interesting technique, 'Atce. Very interesting. I _will_ beat you the next time. You just wait and see.' 

Rapieratce smiled that annoying smile of his, green eyes still sparkling in mirth. He took a quick bow and a salute to the captain, still retaining his usual composure. 

'Touché, Dale.' 

Daleria sheathed her sabre as she gave Rapieratce a defeated yet unsatisfied glare. He had an annoying habit of having an ability to get on her nerves and get a good laugh at her while he was at it, and most of the time she did not have the option of biting back. He even had the cheek of doing it in front of the others, rendering her option called Beat Rapieratce Up useless. The colonel laughed it off lightly, as he always did, and easily sheathed his own blade with a fluid motion. Daleria glowered at him and thought mentally to herself. 

_Mental note to self: Will beat colonel next time, and make sure that smile is wiped off his face while at it._

The others were simply looking on in silent amazement, especially the ones who had trained swordplay with Daleria before the occasion arose. It was not humanely thought possible that anybeast could disarm the captain that most probably could had ridden them of their blades while reading a novel and balancing a ball atop of her head. Well, not that any of them would have thought that she would have parried with the colonel, as the colonel rarely parried with them, but that was beyond the point. The show had not disappointed, though, and it was something most would remember for some time after that. Glamoren simply took it in his stride, walking over to help up a random squirrel who had nearly got his tail chopped off while scurrying away from the two moving hares and the various sharp items of steel that would not have been nice to land on, all the while remonstrating the colonel with disapproval. 

'I thought you knew better than to do that, 'Atce. You nearly beheaded a good number of creatures while the two of you were at it, y'know. In a confined space, furthermore. Lady Consellariel would have disapproved. Greatly, I might add.' 

Rapieratce shrugged nonchalantly as he removed his shoulder strap for a while, glad for the release from the pressure that had burdened his back all too often for the past few weeks. It felt incredibly heavy to him, regardless of its actual light weight in reality. Holding the weapon loosely in his left paw, he stretched his back and yawned slightly before putting up a defence for himself. 

'Don't blame me, 'Moren. It was far too tempting to resist. You try resist your temptation to prove your skill with the blade after being cooped up with a few million, rather exerting I might add, training session and a couple of hundred pounds of extremely boring paperwork waiting on your table for the next morn every day. I fear I might have let my standard drop. And besides, it's not my fault that Dale wanted to make so many bally turns and twists. I would never have added such fancies to my play, you know me well enough. It was either block and attack or stay and get chopped. You choose.' 

Daleria heard him. 

'Hey! It was better than staying still and doing nothing!' 

Rapieratce laughed lightly. 

'I suppose so. Still, you trying to wring my neck earlier on wasn't exactly doing nothing, captain. I had to do something in response.' 

Rapieratce had to evade another quick and annoyed swipe from her paw, jumping backwards and nearly crashing into Longrunn, thankfully regaining his balance in time. Longrunn, evidently, had returned from his escapade in the kitchens and was with the long awaited cure. The sergeant was not at all happy, holding the cure precariously above his head as he stepped away from the colonel, not wanting to risk the cure, even if the colonel had returned back to sanity. 

'I say sah, watch where you put your flippin footpaws! I don't think we'd be able to find another cure for Daleria if you knocked this one out of my paws.' 

Rapieratce stopped fooling around and straightened himself again, reluctant to give away what little leisure time that he had just received, but knew it was his job. Slipping his sheath back on, though not very willingly, he and Longrunn sought out Daleria and gave her the newly brewed cure. The captain was not happy at the cure by the looks of things. At least, she did not show much approval, as it clearly could be seen. Daleria took a good long look at the cup, of which was emitting a foul smell and still steaming, eyeing it warily with a carefully raised eyebrow, regarding it with great suspicion. If she went by looks, the thing would bound not to taste very nice. She looked up sceptically at Longrunn, evidently not wanting to believe the foul thing was a cure. 

'Sergeant, are you sure this is the cure and not the poison? For some reason I don't feel like risking my neck and drinking that thing.' 

Longrunn gave her a withering glare, obviously not amused. Rapieratce smirked at her, of which attained him a death glare in return. Daleria returned her gaze to the cup, muttering under her breath. 

'Well, it could have fooled me well enough.' 

After receiving another death glare, she gave up and dropped her joking attitude and became serious. 

'Fine, fine! I'll drink the bally _thing_!' 

She took a final unbelieving look at the cup before grabbing it and swallowing it's contents without much hesitation. Better to get it over rather than delay it and receive even worse after effects. She shuddered when she finished it, coughed once, and nearly broke the cup while setting, or should I say throwing, it onto the table in unhidden disgust. 

'Ugh. If there is one thing I would ask of you, sergeant, it is to remind me _NEVER_ to get myself poisoned. **Ever** again. That thing was positively _foul_.' 

Longrunn threw his paws up in the air in defeat and rolled his eyes, praying for some sort of patience to deal with the stubborn captain, while Rapieratce simply smirked and walked away, called away by Ruft, who was eager to get the vermin off his roof, literally. Daleria tottered behind him, muttering about distasteful cures, Glamoren trailed after them not long after, and soon Longrunn had no choice but to follow them, roping in Remora at the same time. Off to council. How interesting. 

* 

'So they've practically trampled all over you bally roof?' 

Ruft nodded. Rapieratce looked bemused at the thought. 

'And it did not cave in?' 

Daleria's head immediately pricked up from dead to alive, and the captain panicked, shaking her head furiously at the colonel, mouthing madly over to him. Rapieratce quirked an eyebrow at her. Basically, it went along the lines of _No! NO! Don't, 'Atce! I'd die of boredom if-_ but it was too late. Ruft had already launched into a complex, if not overused, explanation of very confusing parts of mole architecture. Remora looked actually rather interested, putting in her comments here and there while the colonel remained passive in his normal calm temperament, of which Daleria clearly saw through to a very bemused colonel, but Rapieratce simply ignored her and sat listening and nodding his head. Consellariel must really have bored him out at the meetings if he could shut off just like that. Daleria found herself thankful that she did not attend the many various meetings she was supposed to, often pleading 'sick' or 'occupied', which usually involved a bit of a scuffle with an immensely disapproving Rapieratce and a very amused badger lady. Rapieratce never could lighten up for very long nor very much, no matter how hard Daleria had tried to get him to. Longrunn accompanied Rapieratce in his appearance, having been forced to go in stead of Daleria for the meetings most of the time. Daleria rolled her eyes and slumped back into her seat, having undergone the torturous conversation numerous times before. Glamoren smirked at the captain, whilst Longrunn listened as attentively as he could, not being as versed in boring councils as Rapieratce. After a various amount of wasted time and various degrees of yawns later, they returned to the affair at paw and everybeast seemed to awake miraculously. The more they discussed, the more they realized how Ruft's home might come in extremely handy in a pincer assault from the back. Once they got a plan into action and managed to get Seppak to force his masses forward, the attack might shift in their favour. It was, however, very unfortunate that the swordfoxes were so experienced in their trade and that few on the mountain were better to them. True that they were good, and experienced, but swordfoxes had something in their blood, and they were beasts that were truly subtle in the affairs of the steel. Furthermore, there were numerous hares that preferred the lance, sling, spear, bow and other various weaponry that could not level par to the swordfoxes, not through lack of experience nor skill, but merely that the blade had advantage over their own. 

Daleria, however, managed to come up with a rather incredulous and inane plan, as only Daleria could. It was so crazy, it might work in their case. Not in Rapieratce's opinion though. He had put up an immediate barrage of refusal the minute he heard the plan. He shot her a look that immediately meant no. 

'No! That idea is... Completely insane! The lady would have my head! And yours, mind! We're here to live, not to try and commit suicide here, Dale! You'll get killed!' 

Daleria remained stubborn. Glamoren shook his head in disagreement, and poked his lance across the sand diagram that had been drawn in the ground. He drew a long streak from what looked like a lopsided triangle through a few pointy squiggles, through to a dent in the sand. They represented Salamandastron, the rocks and Ruft's home respectively. 

'_If_,' he said, tapping his lance lightly against the squiggle that was Ruft's home, trailing up with a slight scratch. 

'Dale runs fast enough,' 

There he smirked at the captain before quickly ducking a swipe from her sheath, which ended up nearly beheading Rapieratce behind him, who fortunately caught the piece of artillery before it could cause any damage on any side. Glaring at the captain, the colonel threw the sheath back, once again giving Glamoren a reason to duck. But instead, the major caught the sheath in his right paw and set it against the wall. The south pawed major waved his lance at the captain. 

'You, Dale, won't be able to jolly well run very much if I kill you first, so stop trying to hit me with the sheath,' 

Then the major turned to Rapieratce, who knew enough of his partner to immediately roll against the wall in the opposite direction and out of the way before Glamoren's lance crashed down moments later onto where his head once was. The major smirked at him. 

'You haven't got very much bally rusty, then 'Atce?' 

The colonel grimaced as he moved back to his original position. He commented dryly. 

'How could I? I had to deal with you a few seasons back. Now I have to deal with _both_ you _and_ Dale. My life is getting too bally hard for me to handle.' 

Rapieratce immediately dropped to the floor through reflex as both sheath and lance came at him. 

'Peace! I mean to make it out of this alive, thank you. And with my head attached. Get back to the plan!' 

Glamoren glared at him before folding his outstretched arm back in while twirling his lance back into position while Remora tossed Daleria her sabre back. Daleria grinned over at him. The colonel smiled back slightly. Coughing, Glamoren turned back to the diagram, which had miraculously survived without being tramped to death in the process, not that it would have doing it much difference if it had. 

'As I said, if Daleria can run fast enough, we could take the route past the shore, dispatch into the mountain, then pray that our captain here has got a good speed compared to the foxes.' 

Rapieratce shook his head silently, rising from his leaning position from the nook against the wall, grabbing his sheath in the process. 

'It's not right. If we should stumble upon a stray, we're all doomed. It's safer if we take the route along the main rock formations. Should we stumble, there's always Mossflower to stray into. It would be a safer barrier.' 

'I doubt it. They would never expect anybeast along the shore route. The Mossflower way is probably guarded. Should it be, we would waste precious time. We cannot afford that.' 

'True... but I'm still reluctant on the shore side idea of things, 'Moren. It feels too insecure. Too much that could go wrong. But I suppose it would be worth a try...' 

Daleria smirked at him. Rapieratce shot her a look that clearly said that she was going to be in serious trouble if she opened her mouth. Daleria smirked wider. Ruft nodded. 

'So you'll be leaving at sundown, I suppose?' 

Rapieratce nodded. 

'Better now than never. I thank you for the short stay, Ruft.' 

Ruft waved a paw at Rapieratce. 

'Tsk. Dale would have killed me if I didn't but that it is not the point. You are helping me, and for that I am grateful.' 

Rapieratce nodded. Looking pointedly at the others, he commented. 

'You chaps better be sure you can run. And fast. As for you Dale, if something goes wrong... I don't know who's head Consellariel will be after. Yours or mine. Furthermore I don't think I would forgive myself for letting you even try. We leave at sundown. Glamoren, Remora, let the others know.' 

Longrunn looked at the colonel. 

'This is not going to be easy, is it sah?' 

'Easy? That word won't be lingering around when war breaks out.' 

* 

It was the brink of sundown, and the orange black rays reflected off the seashore. Ruft had led them out, and said that they were welcome back whenever the could come, or if they could find them. The entire team was there. The main ensemble was going off to the mountain, but Rapieratce, Glamoren and Daleria were going to be the 'hit and run like mad' team. And run they were going to have to do, and extremely fast at that. Rapieratce had given precise instructions along with his famous stare that the main team was to dispatch into Salamandastron at once and not look back for them. What mattered was that they get into the mountain, and the rest was out of their hands. If they did not, they would have either a very angry colonel storm after them, or a ghost haunting them for the rest of their lives. Either way, they were to get in, Remora and Longrunn report to the lady, and the rest look out for the three of them. That clear, they proceeded forward. 

It did not take the three of them long to detect the foxes. They sent the main group on their way, and after they made the all clear rounds, Rapieratce rounded the two up for the final instructions before they took the plunge forward. These moments were essential. 

'Right old chaps, its do and or die here, so you better make sure those bally running paws of yores are still in good shape. Dale, you take the front line, 'Moren and me will cover you. And no Vaxial business like the last time. You can go lurch at him from the mountain, just let him off this time. You can go kill him when the action starts, right now, all we do is grab their attention. Glamoren, take out any in the front. I'll be handling the back. Please, for my sake, be _careful._ Don't take unnecessary risks. And the two of you...?' 

The major and the captain looked up at him expectantly. 

'When I say run, I _mean_ run.' 

* 

Remora and the patrol were by then far ahead when the three finally started. The path was clear, and as expected, there were no patrols on the shore. They were fast approaching the mountain, at the speed they were going at, and soon managed to overtake the fox horde altogether and move forward. The pace was incredible. Fear and determination, and utter loyalty was pushing them all forward. Desperation ignited them. All that was left to wait was for the action to begin. That was going to be interesting. And possibly bloody, if Rapieratce did not manage to keep Daleria's reins in check. Of course. The expectation was horrible. It was like those moments when your mentor keeps back your test results just to make your stomach crawl, or when the drill sergeant refused to put up the announcements until the last moment whereby the entire mountain would scramble to see who would be the unlucky ones for double guard for that part of the season. Only this was worse. Much worse. Their stomachs did not need to crawl. They were already running. Rapieratce reverently prayed he would get Daleria back into the mountain, as much as for her as for him. 

* 

'Well 'Atce. Here goes nothing.' 

All taking deep breaths and bracing themselves for what was to come, the three of them plunged into a fast run. Practically skimming across the sand, the approached the front of the horde. Daleria spied Seppak somewhere near the front, save for the fact that a score or so foxes provided a barrier for him. Daleria forced herself under control. This was going to take some fast running. Very fast. They approached the main horde for the small temporary breach of borders, and took a moment to compose herself. The black was bringing back very bad memories indeed. Taking one final look back, she saw Glamoren cut down a sentry that had been posted then yelled at the top of her voice. 

'Seppak? You want me, don't you? Why don't you come over here and get me!' 

Daleria swore the entire horde turned their heads over to them in synchrony. Seppak was heard to yell out a myriad of choked orders before ten foxes came after them. It was frightening to see the order that they were in. Rapieratce took down one fox which tried to get to them, Daleria tore down two of her own with a vengeance and Glamoren extinguished another before they pulled away from the horde and began an all out sprint for their lives. 

* 

'What the-?' 

Cosenet squinted through the pain. She must have been hallucinating. It simply was not possible. Maybe the stuff the foxes gave her was going to her brain. 

_'Dale? The colonel? Glamoren?'_

Tentatively, she asked the others, who also seemed to be watching the scene with an certain degree of agape mouths and incredulous looks on all their faces. 

'Willow... Are you seeing what I'm seeing?' 

'Mealiney... You too?' 

'Tehora?' 

Nods. They all paled at the same time. 

'Dale? Here? It's suicide!' 

'She has the colonel and the major with her though.' 

'Still! It's three of them versus five hundred of these!' 

'Guess we're going to have to wait it out to find out.' 

* 

The three of them pulled off at the same time, sprinting madly for the haven that was labelled Salamandastron right in front of them. Rapieratce was still the most alert of them all, paying close attention to everything and was keeping an intensely close lookout for anything that might happen about them. They were fast approaching their target, footpaws thudding wildly in long gaits as they literally flew over the dunes and sped off towards the target. Daleria yelled out. 

'We might just make it, 'Atce!' 

'Keep quiet and keep moving, captain!' 

The foxes were gaining. Seppak was there, a murderous and insane glint in his eye, while the three solitary hares scrambled madly away from a surge of black that threatened to overwhelm them in a single take. They were nearly there. Daleria could even see the pillars on the inside of the mountain, the training grounds, everything. Nearly... All of the suddenly, there was a shout behind her. Rapieratce shoved her forwards towards Glamoren, who looked back at his partner, knowing full well that something had to have happened in order to make Rapieratce do that. The answers was not long in coming. 

'Crossbow! Take her! I said _take her_ major!' 

True enough, there was a slight sound of a crossbow being drawn. Daleria paled and slowed at the sound, knowing that things were about to turn ugly, as did Glamoren, though less so. Rapieratce knew that if they stalled, it was all going to over. He could not let that happened. He had to get them back into the mountain. He pushed them faster still, growling at them in a voice that scared himself. 

'I swear, Windbind, if you don't get into that mountain in one minute I am going to make sure you'll never rest in peace for the rest of your life.' 

Daleria looked shocked that he actually resorted to her last name. Nobeast used her last name. Not even Consellariel. The captain turned to look back at him. Rapieratce looked desperately into her eyes before yelling full out at them. It was time to pull in full authority in those cases, as much as Rapieratce disliked taking over others with commands. 

'I said take her major! That's an _order_!' 

In a last desperate act, Rapieratce heard the hiss of the bow behind him and shoved Daleria forward just as the crossbow arrow came at them, dodging in behind Daleria and taking it in her stead. The impact itself shoved them forward. The colonel fell full onto the sand. The pain was overwhelming, blinding, all consuming and it took all Rapieratce had in him to remain in self control. Clutching his left shoulder in pain, feeling the bolt protruding out the other end. Daleria stood shocked and unbelieving, completely still, staring at the colonel as if he was mad. Her world was shattering again. 

'Windbind! Get in there. Now.' 

He hissed, narrow eyed, at the two who had stopped from his position in the sand, struggling to stand. His green eyes were fierce. His temper flared and his eyes sparked. He removed his rapier and threw it to Glamoren. The major caught it only out of reflex. Rapieratce shouted at him again. 

'I gave you an _order_, major! Take her! _NOW_!' 

Glamoren suddenly snapped back into his senses and grabbed Daleria's arm, holding Rapieratce's sheath in the other paw. He knew that Rapieratce would take no concern over himself and expected all those under him to obey when it came to an order when he was putting himself on the line for the order. He knew he had to get Daleria away, or else he was going to be in serious trouble, in more ways than one. The captain tried to struggle against him, still not wanting to abandon Rapieratce on the sand alone in the direct path of the foxes. Clandestine and her family flashed before her in that instant. Glamoren finally pulled her away, using all his strength, and Daleria was left no time to object as she was hauled away into the mountain while watching a black swarm overtake the figure in the sand. 

* 

Daleria wrenched her arm out of Glamoren's arm the minute he laxed his grasp, which was _after_ he had got some sentries to lock _and_ bolt it. He look she shot him was enough to murder, and her paw strayed close to sabre out of reflex. Glamoren looked very, very upset. He looked down to his paw, which held Rapieratce's rapier. The look of the blade was enough to make his stomach drop a few feet down. Daleria was beyond the point of screaming at him, her own emotions were boiling overtime, and the look on her face was enough to make almost anybeast take a step back. Glamoren resisted the urge to do so. Daleria was not one to mess with when it came to affairs such as this. Glamoren knew that her history of loved ones dying was great, and that the captain wanted not to lose any more than she had to. Slowly, he knelt down, still looking up at Daleria, and laid Rapieratce's blade on the ground, the sheath making a slight scratching sound on the stone floor, stood up slowly, took a deep breath, then backed off and went up to report, nearly running. Daleria looked down at the blade, the entire leather sheath that looked as if it had been used for nearly forever yet somehow maintained it's mint condition status, the usual thing that she saw the moment Rapieratce appeared every day, and her heart shattered into pieces. The captain somehow managed to push her feelings away after a moment, bit back her emotions, then snatched the rapier up without second thought and bounded up after him. 

* 

Rapieratce groaned in pain as he felt somebeast grab him by his scruff and drag him back. Feverishly hoping that Daleria had got clear of the danger, he stoned his face and prepared himself for the worse that could happen. Which, in his opinion, could be very bad indeed. Praying he would get out of the affair, he closed up all other emotions. Seppak the Black's face appeared in his line of sight, sneering. The fox's malicious eyes scanned his face as if ransacking for a memory, then smiled in an extremely unsettling way that made the fur on Rapieratce's neck rise, but he kept his thinking straight and refused to talk, keeping his face completely blank. The fox spoke. 

'Well. Isn't this the captain that I saw the last time this happened? Close friend of Daleria's aren't you? You shall be useful. Let's see how much you can take, or maybe how much Daleria can take seeing you in trouble. I doubt she would take very long, unless she is as cold hearted as I hear her to be.' 

Rapieratce sent him a cold glare that made his eyes turn nearly a light shade of emerald. 

* 

Daleria did not even bother to knock on the door. It was not that see needed to in the first place, seeing that it was thrown open and the badger lady could be seen to be in council with Remora and Longrunn. Glamoren was not there yet. Daleria had overtaken him by far on the way up, and now she was standing in the doorway, motionless, and just looking at the badger lady. Consellariel looked up, and a wave of relief seemed to pass over her, but that was soon replaced when she saw what was in the captain's paw. Talking as if in doubt or unsure, she spoke tentatively. 

'Captain. I see you have returned safely, thank heavens for that. What it that in your paw, though?' 

Daleria lifted the sheath weakly into the sight of the members at the table. Longrunn's face hardened, and Remora paled. Consellariel looked unbelieving. The captain refused to speak. The atmosphere stayed that way for a moment as the three in front of her tried to grasp the situation while Daleria bit back her emotions. The silence lasted for a few more minutes before anybeast made a movement. Hoarsely, the badger managed to return to her senses and said, 

'Rapieratce? Glamoren?' 

Daleria mentioned behind her shoulder by tilting her head, motioning towards to the running Glamoren who had appeared up the stair well, but did not speak. Her face was hard, as if she was putting up some kind of block. Glamoren came in. The badger lady, knowing that she would not be getting much more out of the captain, asked instead the major. Glamoren pointed weakly out the forge window. Everybeast moved to see. Daleria paled even more when she looked out. Rapieratce, arrow still in his shoulder, was being interrogated by Seppak, and it did not look as if it was going well when Seppak threw him to one of his captains and got him bound. Daleria's face went blank again. It was as if she were living Clandestine all over again. Glamoren swore under his breath. Consellariel finally spoke. 

'Major, get all officers up here right now. This is an emergency.' 

* 

Rapieratce knew that he was in serious trouble. For some reason, Seppak had refused to let him remove the arrow, and now it was hurting madly, especially since he was forced to turn his arm around to be bound, and the joint had moved resulting in an immense bout of paint in his left shoulder. It was not going to paralyse by any means, since it had pierced only flesh and nor any major part, but it still hurt like there was going to be no tomorrow, which Rapieratce was only too aware that might be the case. Intensely hoping the end would come fast if it did, he bit his lip against the pain and willed himself to hold out as the pain spread all over, excruciating, and blood trickled all the way down straight towards his paw. His tunic was beyond ripped now, but at least he did not have his rapier on him. He did not want his most prized possession anywhere near the foxes unless it was going to do some beheading, and was going to keep it that way if he had a choice. He prayed that Daleria would not loose her mind and run again like the last time. Consellariel would not manage to stop her if she did. The colonel was forced into a small clearing between the foxes, where the five hostages were. Tehora paled visibly at the sight, as did all the others. Rapieratce smiled weakly up at them from his position on the ground, unable to move due to his shoulder.. 

'You chapesses all right?' 

* 

Daleria stood there trembling in her seat. Right then she did not want to comprehend what was happening, and she was in a very blank state of mind. Her brian was refusing to accept what was going on. It was not happening. 

_No... Not him, not now. It can't be happening. It's just a bad nightmare._

_Wake up Dale... You can't keep on thinking that. You can't help him doing this..._

_No... Not... Why... Again... The same thing... Loosing Rapieratce... No... Not again... Not again... Not again... Not again... It cannot be happening. I can't loose the only hare I will ever depend on again now. No. I can't. He has to live. No. No..._

Consellariel looked over to her in concern. 

'Daleria?' 

The captain shook herself awake with a startle. Blinking in weird manner, she look up. 

'Sorry marm. It's just...' 

'Never mind, Daleria. Right now, all I can say is we can't let you out of the mountain. Not for the colonel, and not for the others. It's far too risky.' 

Daleria snapped back into reality. 

'What? Exactly why not, marm?' 

'Daleria, if I let you anywhere out there, they are going kill you, the others and Rapieratce. If I don't they have to keep them alive, no matter what, or they would be left with nothing. Do you understand?' 

Daleria flared up completely, abruptly standing up and pushing her chair away. 

'You can't just leave them there, marm!' 

Consellariel remained even. 

'You have to understand captain. It is the only way.' 

'There is always an other way!' 

'Not in this case, Daleria, please, try to understand that.' 

Daleria sent Consellariel a look of absolute hate. She snarled out her sentence, but was unable to find an appropriate enough phrase to curse with. 

'You... Heartless. Absolutely _heartless_...' 

The captain threw Rapieratce's blade onto the table, scattering paper everywhere and shocking the already stunned array of officers, stalked out of the forge and down to her rooms. They could hear the door slam from the forge itself. Consellariel looked at a lost, looking from the blade up to the empty forge corridor. Daleria was not going to be very emotionally stable. And this time, there was no Rapieratce to help her. 

* 

Daleria lay on her bed in a dazed state, her heart torn completely in two once again and confusion, hate, spite and anger, along with doubt, emotion and hopelessness settled on her like a ocean pressurizing on the sea bed. She was wandering on some other world, where just the road matters, walking, running, walking moving, moving, forward, so simple, going onwards, nothing else, no complications, no deaths of friends, no Seppak, no world, no Daleria, no Clandestine, no Rapieratce, no Consellariel, just the road that of which she walked. No love. Tears were trailing down her face, but she just lay there staring up at the ceiling, her mind not working at all, just concentrating on that wonderful depressing emotion that would make the world go away and everything else irrelevant. Just the depression... Just the world... Just the raw emotion. Nothing else existed anymore. She did not even hear Longrunn ramming heatedly and shouting to be let in behind her locked door. She was not there. Daleria was not there anymore. 

* 

A few hours later, at sunrise. 

* 

'Daleria! DALERIA! Let me in! Right now!' 

Daleria had not stopped staring at the ceiling, but somehow, a part of her sanity had returned enough to know that Longrunn was back at her door. She answered in a partially non existent state. 

'What is it?' 

'Dale? Seppak's out in the open. Rapieratce's with him.' 

That was all she needed to hear. Daleria snapped out of her trance, threw the door open and ran down the main stairwell, Longrunn trailing after her. She found Consellariel, Glamoren and Remora at a window in the main chamber. Seppak was not far off. He was near enough so as that they could hear perfectly well what he was saying. He smiled when he saw Daleria appear at the window. 

'So the ever elusive captain makes an appearance! Long time, Daleria!' 

The captain let out a strangled cry of anger, nearly lurching forward had it not been for Glamoren and Remora holding her back. Seppak only smiled wider. 

'Why don't you come out now? You could save him here.' 

Seppak mentioned over to Rapieratce, who was standing there, face blank, arrow still in shoulder. Daleria faltered at his state. It was all her fault. She should never had let her emotions slip. It was a curse. 

'I'm warning you, Daleria, if you don't come out right now...' 

Daleria tried to lurch forward again, struggling in a crazed daze, a near blood wrath coming upon her. Glamoren and Remora and Longrunn all had to use all their strength to keep the berserk captain under a state of control. 

'No? I warned you.' 

Seppak suddenly moved forward and ripped the arrow out of the standing Rapieratce's shoulder without warning. Rapieratce, caught off guard, fell, blood running anew from the wound, which had healed slightly overnight, which had just been ripped open again. He let out a slight cry of pain, his green eyes could be seen glazing over as he fought for a desperate control over himself. The pain was like a living creature, working it's way through him, killing him slowly. Seppak kicked him in the ribs. Rapieratce let out a strangled cry, his paws still bound behind him, which only added to the pain as he writhed around trying to loosen them and fight back the destruction that was being wrecked upon him. Daleria tried to get away once again, clawing at the air to get away from her restraint. Seppak only laughed, only kicking Rapieratce harder. The colonel shuddered, his eyes completely glazed over in an eerie transparent white that mixed with his green, which looked incredibly alarming. The fox laughed again, and saw that the colonel was close to the point of passing out. He lifted a small pail. 

'See this? Sea water. T'would keep him awake, I reckon.' 

The minute the water crashed down on the colonel, Rapieratce jerked back into painful consciousness, beyond the point of verbal exclamations, writhing on the blood soaked sand in agony. Daleria wanted badly to tear her eyes away from the disturbing scene, but something glued her eyes to the picture. Seppak grinned. 

'You like this? I have five more waiting.' 

Seppak knelt down and talked to the stricken colonel. 

'Now, do you think she would give in?' 

Rapieratce raised his head even through his pain in outright defiance. Weakly regaining his ability to speak, he coughed out some blood before he was able to talk. 

'Dale? You think so? I don't. Never. Not even for me.' 

Rapieratce smiled up at Seppak. The fox growled, kicked him harder, and caused Rapieratce to cough out even more blood, breaking three ribs and bringing him another step closer to oblivion. The sea water, however, caused him to be unable to slip into unconsciousness, but in a way it was good. At least he would not be able to get knocked out for a prolonged period of which he might not wake up from for a long time. Dragging Rapieratce upright, he placed his sword at the colonel's neck. Snarling at Daleria, he nicked the top of his chin. 

'I'm letting this one live. Do not expect the others to be so fortunate. Oh. And one more thing. The water, I might add, was slightly poisoned with Corrin Flower. Unless this one has a will more incredible than I would give credit, I doubt he will live to see the next dawn.' 

The fox dumped the half alive colonel onto the sand and turned away just as Remora, Glamoren and Daleria rushed out. The captain stalled, looking at the battered colonel. Rapieratce was still conscious. He looked up at the shell shocked captain and by some unknown and inane reason, managed to smile. 

'Hey Dale. I'm still alive. You did not think I would have left you behind alone, did you?' 

Daleria looked down at him as he was brought away by Remora and Glamoren. Her black eyes looked confused and angered. Rapieratce simply looked back at her, something in his nearly glazed over emerald orbs told her that he would not give up. Something reassured her that he was there, and would be there. Something told her. Memories flooded her head, swamping her. Rapieratce said that he would. Daleria looked down at him. 

'Die on me, 'Atce, and I guarantee things won't end up pleasant.' 

'Me? Die? Not yet, Dale. I do not leave loose ends untied, Dale. I've got more in my life than to die. You know what you said to me. I'm going to have to live to fulfil that, y'know, m'gel. You just wait.' 

* 

Rapieratce was in the infirmary, as was Daleria, and she was worried sick. She had been waiting there for the past three hours, but the captain could not hang around for very much longer. As much as she was worried, she knew that the affair was out of her paws and up to Taremin. There was nothing she could do, as much as she hated to admit it. However, she had her mind kept off the topic when the news that the dispatched pincer team had reached Ruft's home and were ready to attack. They were to strike that night. Daleria had been awaiting this moment for a _long_ time. Vaxial was one thing, Seppak was another. Either way, the fox was not going to be living very much longer after she was done with him. But sunset was still half an hour away, and the captain was still avoiding the lady Consellariel due to the affair of not letting her go, so she had gone up to the infirmary to check up on the colonel, as useless as it was that she did. Taremin had said that she had tried to extract as much of the poison as she could, but the wounds were deep, and there was no knowing whether Rapieratce was going to live until he woke up, which might not be for a long time. The colonel was in a general very bad shape and Daleria felt like loosing hope. The arrow wound was deep, four ribs were broken, and he had lost more blood than the medic felt was comfortable. His lung might have been punctured even, but Taremin had said that there was no sign of internal bleeding, which was incredibly fortunate for him, considering what he had been put through. Daleria knew that if there were, hope would have slimmed beyond hope itself. It was all up to Rapieratce now. The captain sat next to the bed, rubbed her weary eyes, then stood and stretched before rising to arm up. Plodding her way silently past the corridors, she could hear the various sounds of sheaths being drawn up, blades being withdrawn for the last check, bows beings bent and staffs clacking together in preparation. The anticipation was horrible. Walking into her room, she slung on her sabre on the shoulder sheath as always, but withdrew something new. It was a double cross sheath meant to be slung across the hip, with two of her longer personal daggers. Daleria knew that, as good as she was with the sabre, there would come instances when she would need to utilize close combat, lest be cornered. The foxes would not be able to fend her off at close distance as well as they could with the longer blades. The daggers were slightly curved nearing the apex, but only very slightly. They were straight enough to stab without any extra angling or advanced handling, true to their owner's temperament. One stab would wipe the plate clean. Securing it around her hip, the captain slipped in a few smaller throwing daggers in a few convenient compartments for the occasional quick attack. Normally, Daleria would never had gone so heavily armed, but the captain was making an exception for this battle. For any normal occasion, Daleria would have considered herself ridiculously over armed, but the captain knew enough of sword foxes not to underestimate their skill and speed to go unprepared. Much better. Revenge for her, and for all that had come to pass for her. And for Rapieratce. 

* 

Cosenet was in a state of shock. The scene that had just took place had affected her the worst out of the five of them. The galloper had seen very little serious action before, only recently coming full into service. The affair with Seppak was not having a very good effect on her. Willow looked concerned. 

'I say, you all right back there?' 

Cosenet shook herself up slightly, her voice quavering slightly as she spoke. 

'D'you think the colonel be? He looked pretty bally beat up. Horrible.' 

Mealiney shrugged nonchalantly at the comment, turning uncomfortably against her bonds. 

'Rapieratce? Knew him as a captain. He'll live, wot. I'd bet my blade on it.' 

* 

Daleria stood waiting orders. She was still distancing herself from the badger lady as much as possible though, taking orders from Glamoren instead of directly from Consellariel. She was incredibly upset over the skirmish in the forge. She knew somewhere in her heart that Consellariel did not have a choice, but her brain argued that she could have at least shown some form of compassion instead of her frank harshness. Daleria had sided with her brain and thus kept herself away from the lady. After all their disagreements, Daleria finally had enough. Too much was wrong with her life already, too many lost and one too many dying, and she did not want to make it any worse than she could. The captain decided to put off any talks with Consellariel until after the war was over. Whether she would still be alive to see it was another thing, but she knew that Rapieratce would kill her if she did not live through the affair. Well, that was technically impossible, but still... Daleria knew the would not forgive her if she did. In line with a rank of hares in the front line, she saw the sun finally dip beyond the horizon, and a distant spark could be seen. In an instant, a flare went up over the other end, and burst in a signal in the sky, bright enough to light the area as if it were day, and the captain could see the fox army leaping up and arming in an instant. She herself lit the responding signal, and soon the sky was a smoking, writhing light to brighten the grounds as if the sun. Glamoren looked them over while Consellariel strode forward. leading the first ranks forward. They approached the foxes at a half run before the lady stopped and Glamoren yelled out a command. 

'First rank! Archers load! Fire!' 

At the lady's command, an arc of arrows dipped over them, crashing upon the running foxes, dealing out the first wreckage. The damage on their side was quite devastating. On the other end, a similar situation could be seen. Daleria brought herself back to her present by another command. 

'First rank archers drop and load! First rank slings, first rank javelins, second rank archers! Load! Fire!' 

An immense shower of javelins, sling shot stones and arrows showered over them again. The screams could be now heard as the enemy grew nearer. The foxes had by then split in two directions, one towards the second assault, and one towards them. Daleria gripped her sabre hilt over her shoulder in anticipation. Glamoren yelled out the last order. 

'First rank archers! Forward! Second rank archers! Arc! Fire!' 

The first rank of archers sent a direct a direct assault against the foxes, slaying at least a score, while the second rank sent an arc over them, attack from the top. By then, the foxes had sent over a desperate counter attack of their own, and Daleria saw a side flank beside her being taken down by a quick assault of barbed arrows. There was no time to worry about that matter, however, as Glamoren yelled out again. 

'Ranks reform! Half run, forward now!' 

The hares reformed back into a three deep rank, a single long line going against the foxes at a half run. Daleria could by then see into the eyes of the enemy. She pounded her way forward, anticipation ringing in every bone of her body, as she sighted her revenge. 

'Steady! Steady! Full run now! Forward!' 

Consellariel roared out a eulalia as the two sides broke against each other, and the fighting commenced. The badger lady was a terrifying sight, and all the hares kept out of her was as her pike reaped a war path of destruction as the bloodwrath took her. vermin flew as her pike came at them, while others were impaled in a quick stab. Glamoren gave the order, and all the hares in the ranks unsheathed, and Eulalias and battle cries flew thick in the air as the two sides clashed in a pincer attack. Daleria waited in anticipation until a fox was nearly upon her, ducking the blade before unsheathing her blade in mid duck before bringing it upward at a vicious speed, slicing forward and killing her opponent as she came up, cutting his throat. 

_That was for 'Atce._

Ducking again as another fox followed up, the captain swung her blade again, clashing against the fox in a loud crash as the two of them started parrying. Her actions were more vicious as usual, as the need for revenge and the pain of seeing what had happened to Rapieratce combined into a blood lust of energy that gave her the will to pull down those that opposed to her. Doing a double twist and rolling off her blade arm, she ducked as the foxes blade whistled overhead, but took the opening and stabbed forward again. Then, two foxes came after her, and the captain knew she was in trouble. Hastily sheathing her sabre in a fluid motion, she grabbed the two daggers at her hip and unsheathed them, stabbing two foxes fighting around her in the process before turning her wrist and catching the blow one fox was about to deal her and doing a rapid underpaw stab into the other's side. As the first fox was busy parrying with her on her right, the captain withdrew the other blade as the fox on her left slumped down, dead, and delivered a forceful thrust into the foxes ribcage. Wrenching free her blades as she felt another come upon her, she whirled to her left and sliced another foxes throat before crashing down onto another, stabbing down directly into the shoulder blades. 

On the other side, Remora, who was leading the pincer attack team, gave the command to charge. Taking a fox down with a sabre strike, she yelled off an eulalia before plunging into the deep. Clashing with one fox, she did a figure of eight, slashing down another in the turn before coming back up and stabbing the fox she was fighting with in the heart. Her curved blade took down another, and she grabbed and unsheathed one of her own short swords in her left paw and thrust it into the foolishly uncovered left side of the neck of her opponent. Sabre in one paw and sword in the other, she plunged in deeper, before yelling out another order. 

'Left flank! Dispatch! Right flank! Dispatch! Center flank! Forward! Eulalia!' 

In a swift motion, her left flank pulled away from the center and caved in on the left side of the foxes in an effort to corner the swiftly moving fox forces in order not to swamp themselves in a pincer against them, as the right did the same, closing down on the foxes. Remora cut down another as she received a cut across the face, charging forward with her center flank beneath the fire brightened sky. 

Back on the mountain, lieutenant Dallaw was in charge of the "lighting" crew. In order to be able to stun the vermin as well as fight properly, several flares were set up on the front windows of the mountain. Corporal Bueatrill and sergeant Mianent were aiding him. The lieutenant watched the left and right flanks dispatch off and knew it was his signal. 

'Right ho chaps! Let them rip!' 

Lighting their torches, the three of them gathered up various flares. The flares were curious objects, consisting of an explosive kind of herb mixed together with various kinds of fast burning fuels and a certain kind of plant that prolonged the burning and another that produced the sparkling effect. It was all coated in burning oil and another liquid that created a small explosion that increased the area the flare spread across. They were encased in a woven flax-reed casing made for a small torch design with a cage that was used for throwing. The torch was a small one, with a case of young sapling branches woven together into a casing that could be closed and opened. The torch was made up of a light wood that burnt easily, and itself was also coated with the explosive liquid. The small flare package was slipped into the cage, dipped into the mountain's supply of oil for the lamps, then, dripping, lighted by torches. That gave the thrower about five seconds to release the torch through throwing it, lest he wanted to be burnt to death. The explosion was incredibly bright, and if one looked directly at it, would be blinded for a good ten minutes. The flare lasted about that long in the sky before burning out. The fuels themselves burnt out in less than a minute, but the various substances in them made the light linger in the air for much longer, therefore erasing the chances of hurting anybeast down below. The explosion too, was very small. The package would burst into flame, which spanned about a meter across, then was sucked back into the torch at the force before exploding in a slightly startling noise, but would completely burn up in a radius of about a meter as well. Sparks would also fly. 

Dallaw looked at Bueatrill, who looked at Mianent. Grinning, the lieutenant gave the command. 

'One...' 

The three hares dipped their torches into the oil and kept it at arms length. 

'Two...' 

The three dipped the dripping torch into the fire, where they flamed up. Dallaw hastily called out the last command. 

'Three!' 

The sergeant, lieutenant and corporal let the torches fly in a powerful throw that made the three burning constructions twisting into the night, round and round until they exploded into the night sky. 

'Get down!' 

The three of them ducked beneath the windows as they heard a slight boom from the sky outside and bright flashes appeared in the chamber as they avoided looking at the light. A minute later, they came up and looked in satisfaction as the illuminated sky. 

'Well old chaps, another ten bally minutes or so and we can have a little bit more fun again.' 

* 

Glamoren heard and saw the flashes of light from the newly thrown flares knew it was his turn to dispatch the flanks. 

'Left and right flanks! Dispatch! Center forward!' 

His flanks heeded his yelled out command, and swiftly dispatched and dissolved into the night towards their respective areas. He knew that there was no turning back. Bending backwards to avoid a fast swipe at his neck, the major used the back of his lance to shove away an oncoming attacker before stabbing forward and jumping to the left, stabbing the fox before ripping his lance away and crashing it into the head of an oncoming attacker. The major had a sling across his back, which held his throwing daggers, and using his right paw, he grabbed one and sent it swiftly flying, killing a fox that was about to dispatch one of his flank. Ducking a sabre hack, the major felt something slash across his back, very nearly cutting him in two, but Glamoren threw himself forward just in time, evading his death but gaining a slash across his shoulder blades as he turned in mid air, crouched downwards and tripped up the opponent that nearly killed him before taking his lance and impaling the attacker. As he felt another creep up behind him, his paw automatically went up to another throwing dagger, and it flew before he had time to think, striking a fox dead between the eyes. As he ducked forward and retrieved his dagger, he stabbed forward with his lance, then turned his body to grab the hilt before executing an acute comeback turn and stabbing a fox between the shoulder blades. An eulalia ripping out from his throat, the major threw himself further down into the fray. 

* 

Consellariel took down three vermin in a go in a massive circle of her majestic pike, sending them flying backwards. Her eyes were blood red, and the berserk badger lady had by then taken down at least a score in her name. Cutting down another three, she plunged deeper into the horde, a milestone in the writhing mass of fighting creatures, ploughing her own route through the enemy lines. The pincer attack had given them an incredible advantage, but the foxes had taken down as many of them as the hares had managed to take them down. The badger lady did not care, though, as only the bloodlust pounded through her crazed brain and the adrenaline coursed through her veins, giving her the energy to cut down all that stood before her. 

* 

Daleria winced as she felt her right shoulder blade scored against the back of an opposing blade, but swiftly turned her dagger around and stabbed the attacker in the back of the neck as she turned around. By then, at least seven series of flares had been thrown, and still the fighting went on. Both sides were tiring, but none wanted defeat, and so the foxes and hares both fought endlessly onward. The captain was stabbing, slashing and turning in a mad attempt at getting to her target: Seppak the Black. His sinister form could be seen in the light, cutting down hares as swiftly as she cut down foxes. She could hear loud battle roars from every angle, around her, friends and foes alike were pulled down around her. She saw her secondary target, the hostages. Sheathing her two blades while loosing her sabre in it's sheath, she sliced a fox's throat before coming unto the clearing where the five were. Glamoren fought his way into the clearing as well. Consellariel had not said anything about rescuing the hostages, but she had not said not to either. Thus, Glamoren and Daleria had concocted their own plan of their own to execute, deciding to bring matters into their own paws. Daleria had been incredibly angry that Consellariel had not taken time to acknowledge the five, which only added to her current dislike towards the badger lady. Glamoren made his way over to her, stabbing and booting away foxes as he went. 

'Wot ho Dale! Get them up now!' 

Sheathing her sabre while Glamoren covered her back, Daleria grinned at the stunned hostages, who were looking at them as if they were ghosts. 

'Stay still for a bit now!' 

Daleria unsheathed her right dagger, and in five swift strokes, shed them all of their bounds. Glamoren threw her five of his longer daggers of which he had brought along with him for the trip. Glamoren threw two of the longer ones to her, and Daleria gave them to the captain, Tehora. The captain stood shakily on her footpaws, but regained her balance as she grew accustomed with her weight once again after the few days of stationary captivity. Daleria gave her precise instructions. 

'I'm putting you in charge of these four now, be sure to cover each other. I'm counting on you.' 

Tehora nodded resolutely, acknowledging her task, and Glamoren threw her another four daggers in swift concession. Daleria handed them out. 

'Stick as close together as you can, some of you should not be fighting in this kind of a situation. Who here has the most knowledge of the longer blades?' 

Silecy raised her paw nervously. Daleria motioned to her with a swift nod. 

'Very good. Protect the more seriously injured ones, sergeant. The foxes are more dangerous than you think them to be. Keep them in a tight circle. Don't let any of them get cornered. Good luck.' 

Rising out of immediate instinct, the captain turned her body just in time as to slit a on coming attacker's throat before throwing herself deeper into the rage of fighting beasts, never looking back. She left a bleeding path of dead foxes behind her as she went onwards towards Seppak's ominous form in the range of clashing steel. Tehora got them up, and Glamoren gave them last cover before dispatching away and slaying another few foxes as he went. The odds were against Seppak's horde now, and the battle was nearly to an end. Except that Seppak was still alive. The only way to kill a snake was to take its head. And Daleria was intent on doing just that. Withdrawing both daggers, she used both to stab the gut of one before rising in a quick spin off, taking down the neck of another, then stabbing down through the shoulder blades of another while kicking her footpaws off the ground. Using the blades in the fox's shoulder as a support, she rammed her strong footpaws into the skull of another before rolling off to the left and loosening the blades enough to exert force, then ripped them out as she felt firm ground, both daggers slicing in a downward diagonal left, killing an approaching fox before he even had time to come unto her. Daleria felt confidence and speed grow within her, as she pushed nearer and nearer to her target. Suddenly grabbing the two paws of a fox, she slid underneath the stunned attacker's legs, blades parallel to the fox's arm as she pulled him under, before releasing her left, stabbing him in the chest, then using the momentum to swing across and up slightly in a windmill effect, embedding into the back of the neck of another. Once again using the right blade as support, she ruthlessly stabbed in deeper before wrenching out her left, and used all her strength to fling herself upwards while digging her right blade in deeper. Gritting her teeth in pure determination, the captain felt the blade come slightly loose in her paw as she flew free of the force, swinging herself up and landing her blade directly into the front face of the throat of another fox that foolishly came after her. The move took less than a second, as complex as it was to execute, Daleria was having a freedom to use moves she never would have dared to use during sessions where hurting somebeast was a major risk. Using the two foxes as support, she threw her footpaws upwards, kicked an oncoming fox full in the face before ripping herself free, flying slightly forward and crossing the two daggers diagonally, taking down another two before landing on her feet as flares erupted above her in a chaotic spree. She captain grinned and moved in further. Seppak was only four foxes away. Catching her footpaw on one, she tripped him up, unsheathed her sabre in her right paw after sheathing her dagger, finished him off with a swipe along the throat, stabbed another in the stomach before ducking an attack that was meant for her head and stabbing forward again. The fourth one fell with a throwing dagger in the middle of the eyes. She ground to a stop as she reached Seppak, just as the black fox did so as a hare fell to his cutlass. Daleria sheathed her left dagger, leaving herself with only her sabre. 

'Seppak. It has been long.' 

The fox smiled as he faced her. He eyed her laughingly. 

'Daleria Windbind. Indeed, your doom has been delayed far too long for me to feel comfortable.' 

'As has yours.' 

'Truly? Then why not finish it now?' 

'If it pleases you.' 

Fighting around them ground to an immediate halt as the two leapt at each other. Hares and foxes alike stood still in limbo to see the play that would define the outcome of that war of which they played in. Daleria sparred against him as he tried to get his blade over her head, but struck it back down from its crescendo before using the momentum to arc upwards and struck against the rising cutlass. There was more fury in her play than she had ever dared add before, she brought it to heights that she never would have dared to create, it was a tidal wave of physical movements and emotional rebukes. She stabbed forward again and again, relentless even as Seppak's blade scored her right shoulder. Her sabre sliced down the right of his face in return, as she snapped forward in a rapid double windmill turn, scoring a hit once on his left shoulder but was blocked forward in the second. Seppak struck forward again, pushing relentlessly against her force, but she parried back doubly as hard. She was spurred on by hate, by the tears, by the nightmares, by all her life that she had. Seppak started to taunt her in that moment, trying to wind her away, knowing that she more than equalled him in his art as her rage fuelled her to create moves that defied all possibility. He tried to draw her away. 

'Do you remember her expression, Daleria? The look as I struck her down and she breathed her last?' 

Daleria's mind was suddenly flooded with images from that night of the fall of Clandestine. But she forced herself to cast them aside, knowing the fox's intention full well. Growling, she shoved forward, sliding forward as she side stepped away from Seppak's flying blade, doing a double cross which repelled him away. Nobeast seemed to win nor lose in the desperate dance that the two blades incorporated with each other, merging into a deadly flying array to steel, as sabre clashed against cutlass in a classical symphony of the ringing of steel, whispers of air that was sliced into shreds as the two blades flew, a crescendo of flashing glints and reflective flashes, binding into each other as the fox and the hare did a mad race, a insane game of hard steel. The spinning turns, the straightforward clashes, the sideways stabs, folding over each other in an ocean of moves, running like silk over each other, like waves crashing over one another. An oceanic orchestra of epic proportions that was played out. Daleria remembered all that had happened in that moment. Daleria decided the only way to repel him was through his own trade. She responded as she did a figure of eight and a spinning turn, hissing into the Black One's face. 

'And do you remember what it was like? The emotion on your sister's face as the arrow took her? The only reason being she could not eliminate me? Do you remember her scream as she fell? I do. So clearly. It was embedded in my memory. The thing that grasped at my heart. One of my tormentors torn down. The indefinable _joy_.' 

The fox faltered for a slight moment, but returned and growled and tried to parry against her, but Daleria knew that he had slipped. She stabbed forward, using the same move that Rapieratce had used against her, the effect of another figure of eight, a spinning parry, a turning jump and a curving arc. She used all her heart to do it. The ones that she had loved were dead. The one that she loved then was dying. It tore at her, and she used all the pent up delusions to force her way through the fox's defences. Her move was a result of it, and it defied all logic that she tried to put it in. It pulled, pushed, thrust and drew back all at the same time, defying the laws of the mind, bending the imagination as it was executed, grace and coarse movements intertwining in a vein of fluid motions, turning, twisting, bending, curving, melding into a infinite range of movement, slashing down yet parrying up, a mirror image from every side, binding the fox in the centre of a move that was indefinable and striking. It wound around him, twisting into a web of agony and hate, anger and regret, revenge and perusal, as the blade flew around him. Seppak could not even begin to comprehend what had happened when his blade flew out of his reach, curving away as a multitude of sabre strokes flashed madly around him, twisting madly, a silver web of emotion that wound around him, cutting, slashing, binding him. It was no longer physical. Daleria tortured him with her emotions right then, in that reflexive move, sowing him into what he had reaped, an evil unbearable. The only thing Seppak noticed was that he had stopped moving before Daleria flashed up in his face. The hare glared at him as the fire from her strokes suddenly ground onto him and rendered him useless. The fox gasped as suddenly, one of her long curved daggers pierced his heart, stabbing inwards as she pushed him backwards to the point where she leaned over him and whispered venomously into his ear. 

'The dance of the swords is a dangerous and underground game that takes bravery and skill, slyness and cunning. It takes movement, and co-ordination. It takes heart. It that is all the emotion that you can muster. All your feelings, all your fears, all your hopes, all your dreams, all your aspirations, all your secrets, all your darkness and all your light. It is created only through you heart and your mind, only yourself that can control yet create it. Only your mindset, only your need that brings the skill forward, unteachable, unrenewable. It stretches the limits time and again, as it fuels your heart, your mind, your blood, your very essence. It takes your heart and rips your soul. It is undeniable. It cannot be comprehended by mere words. It strikes before you know it, and leaves before you acknowledge it. It damages and scars without definition. It portrays what you want it to portray. It takes everything. It conquers you for that moment. You will now and never understand what you and what you were did to my life. It ruined me, time and again. You try to ruin me now, taking what is rightly mine. I can only show you what remains, not how it happened. That is beyond my skill to implement. You will always be of the black heart. The only thing you will receive is the guilt, the sorrow, and the evil. You, and whatever that you have done before me, will live only to be a nightmare. But to you, it will live. It will kill you. It ends now.' 

Daleria ripped out the dagger, then used all the strength that she possessed, and carved her sabre through his neck. Seppak the Black breathed his last.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	9. Follow the Road as it leads you

Daleria sighed raggedly as she view the carnage before her. It was done, but not without price. Fortunately, all of her closer friends had survived, though with injuries, were thankfully alive. Glamoren at that moment was conversing with Consellariel, Remora walking around congratulating some of the younger, and shell shocked, younger ones who survived, and Longrunn was heading her way, though he was pulling up numerous hares as he went. The foxes were all dead. After she had beheaded Seppak, it had taken less than half an hour to eliminate the rest of the foxes, and thus now the entire battlefield was one of destructive carnage. The slaughter on both sides was devastating. At least a hundred hares out of the five hundred strong force had gone down to the five hundred of the foxes. Surprisingly, none of Daleria's patrol had gone under, and for that she was grateful, but to know that she was one of the main causes of the massacre before her was pain enough. She was glad that it was over, true, but the outcome was less than exactly pleasant. War never was. Sighing again, she pulled her half dead self over the the sergeant, weary to the bone and stumbling slightly due to a wound on her leg. The sergeant, not exactly in mint condition himself, helped her along, asking in concern along the way. 

'Are you all right Dale? That last play was quite amazing. You looked bally drained.' 

'I am, 'Runn. I'm not exactly sure what came over me then, though. I'm too tired to care anyway.' 

'Rapieratce would have been impressed.' 

'Indeed? Come on. Let's just get back in the mountain.' 

It was, however, unavoidable that the Lady Consellariel eventually made her way up to them, Glamoren and Remora in tow. Daleria immediately stiffened at the sight of her coming over towards her. The lady sighed deeply, seeing all too clearly the expression that was planted directly on Daleria's face. The captain looked away from her gaze. Consellariel raised a scarred paw. 

'Peace, Daleria. Why must you hate me so? You know yourself that I could not move you away, nor try to rescue them, lest give them up totally. I tried to do the best that I could. I tried so hard. I do not know what I did wrong, but I know something went awry. Truly, Daleria, what was it?' 

Daleria looked up at Consellariel in anger, thinking back to all the damage that had been caused. Anger was seething off her. 

'What was it?! You left five innocent hares out in the open, right in the middle of the territory of a fox that could have easily killed them, had his will been to, and nearly got the colonel killed by not letting me go and try and right things out. That is what is wrong.' 

Consellariel looked pleadingly over at Daleria, trying to get the stubborn captain to understand her point of view. The badger lady knew from the start that the captain would not have agreed to her plan of leaving the hostages where they were, and the aftermath of the disagreement was deeper than ever. Daleria had never been so angry with her before. 

'Daleria, you know that there was no other way. Forgive me for my frankness on those days, but I had to put the rest of the mountain as my first priority. I could not just put all my thoughts on a way to get them away. Their safest position was in the most dire one.' 

Daleria's eyes were blazing with an emotional fire. 

'So you wanted them to be tormented by leaving them there?' 

'No! You miss my point, captain. What I meant was that the five of them would have been safest if we had not interfered. Seppak would not have touched them.' 

'But he did! Look at Rapieratce!' 

Consellariel stopped responding then, and looked guiltily at Daleria for a moment. The captain sent a spiteful glare back in response to that action. The badger lady opened her mouth to speak, but Daleria raised a paw to stop her from going on further than that. 

'Do not ask for forgiveness when you know that I cannot. Not now. I have been hurt too deeply, and the wounds are fresh. The sight around you should be enough to express what I must say. I have no pity for those that had no pity.' 

Consellariel looked over to Remora and Glamoren, who were both standing at her side as they watched Daleria storm straight back to the mountain's interior, with Longrunn trailing after her in an effort to calm the hare captain down from her rage. The badger lady sighed heavily. 

'What have I done to deserve this from her? All I want is to get her to understand that what I did was for the best. I would never have done such a thing in normal circumstance. You both know that I would never have. Yet Daleria refuses to accept it.' 

Remora looked at the distant image of the captain stalking into the entrance of the mountain. Longrunn had stopped, obviously realizing that talking sense into the captain was going to be impossible in her current state. 

'Daleria's like that, marm. She will take her own time to come to her right senses. Though, it would be better if Rapieratce were around to help her out here. He always manages to get some sense into the captain.' 

'But Rapieratce is not in the right position to do so.' 

* 

Daleria strode heatedly into the mountain; rage boiling up in her like a volcano. She sensed Longrunn stopping behind her, but cared not. The captain stalked straight to her dorm, and washed herself to get rid of all the dirt and blood that she had attained over the battle. She winced as the water touched various open wounds, hissing slightly, but the anger inside of her was enough to make her ignore it. Consellariel was a fool not to let her go. She could have ended it. Rapieratce would not have been dying right them. Cosenet and the rest of the hostages would not have been in such a bad state if she had tried to stop it. But Consellariel would not consent her to do so. 

_You cannot blame the badger lady for this. Face your fears, Dale. You know that what happened would never have stopped even if you had been released from your hold. It could have even been worse.___

_But look at Rapieratce! Look at how he suffers now!___

_Put not the blame of your personal thoughts on others, Dale. Simply because you have feelings for the colonel does not mean that you can blame others for this.___

_I know… But still, something is not right. My friends are dying, it just is not correct. Everybeast I love is dead, or in this case, dying.___

_Seppak is the only to blame here Dale, and he is dead.___

_Yet I cannot give myself advice that I do not have, can I?___

_You need to talk to Rapieratce, Dale.___

_Rapieratce is dying._

A tear trickled down Daleria's face. Why must life always target on her? The suffering was bad enough, but each day, as she began more and more than the vicious parts of her life were then over, and that there was nobeast left to blame, that the truth was really real. The sudden realization that she had been able to elude for ten seasons. That her family was dead. Gone. That she was the only one left. That she was alone. The thought scared her, and it was that acute pain in her heart. That so much suffering, so much pain, and so much distraught was brought along by her. She had killed, without remorse, and nearly been killed. That she was now left to herself, alone in the world, with no aim in sight that would be able to take away the pain, the fear, the loneliness. That what had happened, really did happen. And if Rapieratce truly did not pull through, that she may never believe in herself ever again to become mentally sure of herself. That she might never be able to depend on somebeast again. Alone. The captain washed away the rest of the blood and threw on a new tunic. 

* 

The captain moved down noiselessly from her dormitory to the infirmary, brushing past hares, from medics to the injured, all the way back to the very last chamber of the infirmary, where the personal wards were. Daleria pushed one of the doors open. Rapieratce did not stir. The colonel was on the bed, still as death, unmoving and pale. And yet he lived. Daleria collapsed into a chair and shook silently, watching the colonel on the bed. What she needed now was some good, comforting advice, yet there was nobeast to offer it to her. Staring impassively forward, Daleria felt herself slip away, drifting off in her mind, leaving behind everything. The world became empty, and her mind wandered on the unknown paths that none went, seeking something, seeking something to keep her alive, to keep her sane, to keep her living. A need for a fuel, something to push her on. And yet she found nothing as she ran through the empty corridors of her mind, nothing that showed her peace. She tossed and turned in her internal torment, so hopeless and empty. Why did so many suffer because of her? Why did all her close friends, compatriots, family, companions, everybeast, somebeast that she loved, why did they suffer due to her? Was hope so far away as was salvation? Daleria did not know. 

_Wake up 'Atce. Please. Just wake up._   
  
* 

Three days had passed by. Nobeast had yet managed to pull Daleria out of her reverie and away from the infirmary. She had not eaten, drunk nor moved. She was paling to the point of death. Remora and Glamoren talked as they walked towards the infirmary, thinking of trying to get Daleria to understand. Both knew they would fail, but nonetheless, it might be good for the captain to keep some company. 

'That un's not going to survive very much longer at this rate. Somebeast needs to talk some sense into her.' 

'You know that Dale doesn't listen to us, Moren.' 

'I know verily well, Mora. That captain only seemed to be kept under control by 'Atce.' 

'Too true. Then again, 'Atce always had a good control over others. Something about him, I suppose.' 

'That's why he's a colonel. And why she loves him, I suppose.' 

'And most unfortunately, why he's dying.' 

'Rapieratce's conscience is indeed one that keeps him morally one of the highest in this mountain. Never will give in, he will. He'd better wake soon, or Dale'll kill herself first. I don't think she'll pull through if he does not.' 

* 

Rapieratce woke up to a dizzy inferno in his head. His head pounded like no tomorrow, his shoulder throbbing madly, his ribs sore, and his felt strangely light Blinking slightly, he shook his head in confusion for a while before realizing he was in the infirmary. Memories flooded back to him, and he settled down for a while to interpret everything that had happened. Daleria saw him stir, and stared as if not believing herself. It should not have been possible. He was meant to be bead. Croaking out in a parched voice, she said, 

'Atce…?' 

Rapieratce looked over and saw a familiar tear stained, pale, lifeless face staring back at him. Sitting up, ignoring the intense pain flaming up, he asked, 

'Dale? Why on earth are you looking so bally drained for?' 

Daleria did not care. She threw herself onto him and wept for the joy. Rapieratce let her, relief flooding through himself as he felt life return to him once again. He pulled Daleria up by her shoulders. 

'So it is done?' 

Daleria nodded. Fresh tears had sprung up. 

'Why did you take the arrow for me? Why did you have to be such a fool?' 

Rapieratce raised an eyebrow at the captain. 

'A fool? I save your life and you call me a fool?' 

'You scared me so. I thought you would die. You were so close to doing so.' 

'I already promised you, Dale. I do not lie, nor break my promises.' 

'I was so afraid. So afraid that I would be alone. Like so many times before. Like my family and Clandestine. Like everybeast else who had gone and never said goodbye. It was so frightening. Something that I've never been able to face up to before. I don't want that anymore.'   
  
Rapieratce kissed her on the forehead gently. 

'You fear far too much, Dale. Let life come as it will. You need not fear anymore. There are many of us who will help you. You know we will.' 

Daleria simply let herself cry onto his shoulder. 

* 

The brigadier and the major entered the infirmary to nearly delirious sobbing and cries. It looked as if the colonel had managed to pull through after all, and was then trying to calm the captain beside him down. Daleria, however, had other ideas of calming down. The colonel sighed at her in frustration. 

'Calm down, Dale. I'm perfectly fine!' 

'Fine? How can you say that? You're injured nearly everywhere, you've been in here for four days without stirring, got poisoned, and you say you are fine?!'   
  
'Dale, I'm alive, breathing, and bally well talking to your insolent self, and I think that considers me as fine.' 

Daleria finally managed to calm herself down slightly, enough to stop annoying Rapieratce with various questions about his health at least. Taremin raised an eyebrow at her. Even she was not as concerned as Daleria was. Remora and Glamoren entered the ward. Glamoren raised an eyebrow at Rapieratce. 

'What took you so long?' 

* 

A week had then passed since Rapieratce awoke, and things had thus proceeded smoothly from there, to the captain's immense relief. The colonel had gradually recovered his health to the fullest, much to the relief of all on the mountain, and slowly, things started to return to some form of rather strange normality. Of course, all the hares on the mountain were recovering from the grievous losses of the war that had come and passed, but it was over and done with, and now all were starting to readjust back to normal everyday life. Daleria, however, was still loath to forgive Consellariel. The captain had successfully evaded the badger lady the entire time, and Consellariel knew better than to try and get the insolent captain to listen. The badger lady knew it was best to let Daleria cool down, though the captain was not showing any intention of doing so anytime in the near future. However, the badger lady already had her paws full of the affairs concerning the battle, and thus had little, if no, time to linger on the personal relations between the two of them. She left it to the colonel to try and talk sense into Daleria. In the time that had passed, Daleria and Rapieratce had only grown closer than ever, and thus maybe the inkling of hope that some sense or another could be transferred over to the captain. The captain in question was currently wandering aimlessly around the mountain on her day off, since all the vigorous daily training had been stopped and all had returned to the slower pace of once per week. She roamed the corridors silently, pondering over all that had happened, her feet taking her where they willed, as she passed by halls, rooms, the infirmary, the kitchen, moving for the sake of not staying still.   
  
_You cannot blame Consellariel forever, Dale. As much as you wish to hide from your reality, you know that you will never be able to evade this forever. Understanding and acceptance is the step you must take in order to find the peace in your heart that you now crave. You know it._   
  
_But still. Consellariel was evil to do so. Nay, I would not say- think, evil, rather cruel. The trauma the five must have endured must have been great. I know how they feel now. I have been where they are now. It is not a situation many would like to be in._   
  
_You use an excuse that is not feasible, Dale. You know that beyond anything that Consellariel could have done that it most likely would have ended up much worse than this if the badger lady had taken any other route. It is as good as it gets to get the five of them out of the impossible fray alive._   
  
_Still. I cannot let myself forgive her so easily. Not yet. Not while everything that I had left was almost tilted over and had almost lost balance._   
  
_You still hide from the inevitable. Do not try to deny this so much, Daleria. As much as you wish it, Clandestine and the rest are never coming back. Rapieratce already survived. Face it now, and never will it plague you again._   
  
_Alas that I have not the courage to do so now._   
  
_Alas indeed._   
  
Daleria returned to her dormitory, and reached out for her old journal. It had come from the seven seasons in Mossflower, and many memories, some good, some bad, some fond, and others she felt worth not remembering at all were stored in those pages. It was precious to her heart. The captain dropped down onto the bed and leafed through the pages, looking for nothing in general, simply revelling in old recollections, letting herself drift back to old friends and brief stays, the many that she had met over her travels. As she continued, she felt herself wander down the north path, down the shady areas of Mossflower, drifting endlessly on the road until Redwall Abbey came full into view. She smiled upon the memory, remembering herself, travel worn, just about lost in unfamiliar territory, desperate to the point of near exhaustion, stumbling straight into the paws of the kind Redwallers and the abbess. Daleria wondered down the hallways, the Great Hall, Cavern Hole, the great kitchens with the massive ovens, the cheerful dibbuns that would hopefully live to grow up differently from her and have a more pleasant childhood than her own. She recalled the old library, the gatehouse, so full of various tales, myths, legends, stories and other material that had her cooped up there for hours, reading for the joy of being alive. Daleria brought herself back to one of the nights that she had stayed upon the battlements, to see the living stars emerge out of the dusk and spawn gently into the deepening night sky. Those were the happier days. Closing her journal and slipping it back into her shelf, the captain lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with nothing better to do. Slowly, sadder things returned to her. She remembered the fear, the hate, the disbelief that she had encountered on that fateful night, the pounding of the blood in her ears as she had run, desperate and scared, through the vast plains of the Western Plains, stumbling across the spanning horizon as she hurtled away from the carnage of what was her home, her very memory blurred with emotion and misted over from hate and fear. The sight of her family dying, of Vaxial's merciless actions and his piercing gaze, of Waleb, trailing along the paths of memory that had brambles and thorns littered around them. She remembered being a foolish young hare, completely unprepared for the world that lay around her, the spinning dizziness of familiar grief descending upon her night after night until she welcomed the emotion to her as a control, to keep the world in place. Indeed, she felt grief so often that she then took to it, clinging to it, absorbing it each night as it visited her, the tearing emotion that would never change. Daleria learnt to love it, and she had cried until her eyes could water no more during those dark days of which hope was like a fleeting shadow that ran away once you set eyes upon it. All that she had loved, all that she had felt so safe among, had disappeared. It had so almost happened again, and Daleria thanked the fates that Rapieratce by some miraculous chance had pulled through and made it back into the world of the living.   
  
All the screaming, shouting, blood, gore, disrupted images from past and present melded together into a nightmare that wreaked havoc upon her mind, and Daleria felt the same sense of hopelessness that she had felt so many times before descend upon her again. It would take many nights, seasons' maybe, to piece together her life all over again. The captain only hoped that this time, it would not fall apart all over again, like it had too many times for her to feel safe.   
  
* 

'Atce…?' 

The time was late. Very late. The stars twinkled in the mezzanine between the dead of the night and that of the morning. A further week had passed since the last. The colonel turned over from his side position on his bed and looked groggily over to his door, throwing on a tunic next to his beside in the process. Squinting, he recognized the voice through the darkness as that of the captain's. 

'Dale? Wot on earth are you doing here?' 

Rapieratce struck a flint and lighted a candle on his table, picking it up by its holder and walking over to his door and lifting it up to eye level. Daleria stood there, looking extremely unsettled. The past week had been ridden with memories, thoughts inside her head that were beginning to get unbearable. She had hoped to talk to Rapieratce, and get some advice that she genuinely needed right them. Rapieratce looked worriedly over at her, noticing her predicament, motioning to get the captain into his room, shutting his door gently behind her. Daleria stood there, waiting for him to acknowledge her. The colonel raised a questioning eyebrow at her before motioning to his bed, of which she sat down on. Rapieratce set his down on his table and sat down next to her. 

'Wot's wrong, Dale?' 

Daleria looked despairingly over to him, recalling all the bad memories, dreams, nightmares that seemed to haunt her at every corner of the night. It was driving her insane, beyond the point of words. She badly wanted to put a stop to all the madness. 

'I do not know, 'Atce. At least not truly, and if so, not thoroughly enough. And that's what's worrying me, 'Atce, to no end. I can't sleep at night, but I don't know why! It's killing me! I can't live like this… It's like a bottomless emotion, driving me crazy. It's like living everything all over again. From… From my family… and Clandestine. And the war. All the way up-… to you. It's mixing up into a boiling creation, tearing at me. I need to get out of here, 'Atce. At least for a day. Away from Salamandastron. From Consellariel. And the war, 'Atce… It's getting worse.' 

Rapieratce looked over at her, examining her. Daleria was looking desperate and sorrowful, worried by thoughts and haunted by dreams. It was as if she really needed to get away for a short time. The captain, in his opinion, had been in need of one for a long time. A time far too long overdue. 

'Dale… How long has this been going on, m'gel?' 

Daleria shrugged offhandedly, trying to wave off his question. 

'Not long.' 

'Dale.' 

Rapieratce looked evenly over her, his green eyes scanning her own black ones with ferocious intent, roving like an intent eagle, boring down into her very heart. The captain knew that he knew her fat too well for her to lie to him. Rapieratce sighted at her softly, knowing that Daleria's problem might lead to something very dangerous for her. The captain was fragile enough, sore from wounds yet unhealed in her heart, and the fact that Daleria knew that her emotions were tangled only made her hide them even more. 

'You don't have to lie, Dale. You can't.' 

Daleria glared at the colonel, but he only smiled slightly. Daleria felt her spirits lift slightly, but she frowned again as she recalled her memories, haunting her. She gathered her knees up to her chin and rested her head there. Rapieratce let her take her time, knowing Daleria well enough. 

'I'm so confused, 'Atce. Why can't I just let it all fade away? I don't want to live like this! I just want to put it all behind me and start again. It's crashing down on me, all that I kept hidden away all these seasons. The reality of it, that they're not coming back. That I don't have a family anymore. That I'm alone. It's so hard, 'Atce, to sit in the dark, staring up at the ceiling trying to piece you life back together. To try and console myself with something that is not there, Why, 'Atce? Why…?' 

Tears trickled a slow path down her face. Rapieratce wiped them away. 

'Whatever is done is done, Daleria. You cannot dwell on that anymore. Look to the future, and of what you have now.' 

'I'm so scared, 'Atce… So scared…. What if I loose everything all over again.' 

'You won't, Dale. I won't let you.' 

Daleria smiled slightly at him. Rapieratce looked out his window watching the path of the stars dip even lower. 

'You'd better go, y'know. If we're found like this, Consellariel is going to murder. As to the want of you to get away from Salamandastron for a time, I am quite sure that Jemerian's Jubilee over at Redwall is coming up soon.' 

Daleria's face immediately lit up. The thought of seeing her old friend again appealed to her immensely. 

'Old Jemerian?' 

The colonel nodded, and Daleria looked pleadingly over at him. Rapieratce laughed softly and kissed her lightly, sending her out of his room. 

'I'll see what I can do. Go off now, Dale. Get some sleep. Don't say you don't want to, Dale. Go!' 

Daleria frowned at him, but went out all the same. Rapieratce chuckled, closed his door, blew out his candle and went back to sleep. 

* 

The day was already light, and had been for the past five hours. There was a knock on Rapieratce's door. Without looking up from his position at his desk, Rapieratce dipped his quill into a bottle of ink, responding automatically. 

'Enter.' 

Somebeast entered, but Rapieratce was intent on penning down whatever he was doing first. A few seconds later, he looked up. 

'Dale? Wot are you doing here?' 

Daleria shrugged absently. 

'I was bored?' 

'Nice try, Dale.' 

'Fine! I just wanted to know a bit more about Jemerian's Jubilee!' 

Rapieratce looked up at Daleria and laughed softly. 

'You really are quite eager to go, aren't you? Don't worry, Dale. The Guosim shrews that sent the message are down in the halls. They're staying over until we can send somebeast or two over with them to Redwall. Go talk to them, wot, and I'll try to wheedle with Consellariel to let you go. She's rather worried about you, y'know.' 

'The badger lady? I still haven't forgiven her for letting them stay. And for leaving you out in the open.' 

Rapieratce set down his quill and looked over to her. 

'You cannot blame her, Dale. Sometimes, as military beasts, you should know that we have to make sacrifices over out consciences. Consellariel was only doing that.' 

'It was still cruel.' 

'Look at yourself, Dale. You weren't exactly merciful to that fox. The badger just wanted to do the best for a whole mountain full of hares, y'know. Forgive her, Dale. More strain has been on Consellariel than any of us. You cannot put the blame of your loss upon her.' 

Daleria sighed at his words, knowing full well that Rapieratce spoke the truth. Rapieratce eyed her levelly for a moment. Daleria gazed straight back at him. Something in his eyes told her that what he said was the truth, not some propaganda of any sort, and even her own conscience told her that it was wise for her to heed him. Rapieratce knew she understood, thus bent his head and turned to his work, scratching at the parchment about a nunnery in Mossflower stumbling upon a family of voles. The colonel noted it down and traced it on a map, marking and labelling the spot. Not looking up, he waved a free paw at the captain. 

'Off you go. You'll find out more from the shrews. And Consellariel is always there for when you need her.' 

Daleria glared at him, and Rapieratce smiled down at his papers. Daleria nodded to him, and made move to exit, but Rapieratce looked up suddenly. 

'Hang on a bit, Dale. Catch!' 

Rapieratce threw the captain a sheaf of papers, which Daleria caught. Raising a questioning eyebrow at the colonel, she eyed the papers warily. Rapieratce explained. 

'Papers of reports. Do me a favour and file yours. Please.' 

'Atce! You _know_ I hate paperwork.' 

'Please…?' 

'Atce. You _never_ plead.' 

'I made an exception. Please. Do me a favour. I'm going under all the after war paperwork.' 

Daleria scowled at him, but took the papers. 

'I hate you.' 

* 

Rapieratce knocked on Consellariel's door, receiving a muffled enter in return. The colonel entered, saluted, and then sat down in a chair in front of the badger lady. Consellariel raised an eyebrow at him, and the colonel placed a piece of parchment on the badger lady's table. 

'M'lady. The Guosim shrews of which you must have been informed of have brought a notice from Redwall. Jemerian, the Abbess, is celebrating her Jubilee, and has requested the presence of some of our hares at the celebrations.' 

Consellariel nodded at him. 

'Any you propose…?' 

Rapieratce leaned back and sighed heavily. 

'Daleria has been troubled of late. She has expressed a wish to let leave of the mountain for a while, and I thought it would be good for her to take leave of the mountain for some time to lax off. She has been under much stress, marm.' 

Consellariel nodded again. 

'Very well. Accompany her, Rapieratce. Bring Glamoren, Remora and Longrunn with you.' 

Rapieratce nodded, waiting for dismissal. Consellariel withdrew a piece of parchment from a drawer, penned something down, and then sealed it. Handing it to the colonel, she gave him further instructions. 

'Look after the captain, colonel. She has been hit rather hard by the war. She will not listen to me, not that I would blame her, had I been in her position. Try to talk to her, Rapieratce. Maybe you will get her to see. She listens to you more than anybeast else.' 

'Yes marm. The Guosim are leaving the morn after the next. Do we leave with them?' 

'Yes. It would be well. You should arrive in less than a week, in that case. Ask the head Log-a-Log if you might take a trip back after the winter.' 

Rapieratce lifted his eyes to the badger lady's, question ringing through his green depths. 

'You mean to let us stay an entire half season there?' 

'The captain needs it. Besides, a half season is not too long time. Dismiss.' 

* 

Daleria had been elated when she had heard that Rapieratce had somehow or another managed to attain her leave to go to Redwall for the celebration along with the others, and even more so when she had heard of the unusually long period that was allotted to them. Rapieratce smiled knowingly at the happy captain, who had abandoned her food almost immediately when she had heard the news, but still shook his head slightly as he sat himself next to her in the officer's mess. 

'You should still go and clear things up with Consellariel though, Dale. It is not an affair that you should give time to worsen. It might turn out for the worse for the both of you.' 

Daleria stiffened slightly at his suggestion, then sighed slightly and cast her eyed away from his. Rapieratce raised an eyebrow at her as he set his fork down to give the captain his full attention. 

'Why are you so afraid of repenting and admitting that you were wrong and simply expressing that you are sorry?' 

Daleria shrugged sadly, trying to portray what she felt into words, though she still found it immensely difficult.. 

'I have no idea, 'Atce. It's just the fear, I suppose. Knowing that it's... over. It's so strange. So empty, I suppose, compared to what I went through prior to this. Nobeast to hate anymore. It's very hard to adapt to such peace.' 

Rapieratce looked at her sharply as she finished, eyeing her with slight suspicion. Daleria refused to meet his eyes, focussing instead on pushing her food around before shoving it down. 

'So you intent to settle your more abusive emotions against the lady?' 

Daleria immediately shook her head at the mere suggestion, laughing slightly, even. 

'You misinterpret me, 'Atce. I may be ruthless sometimes, but please, question not my honour. I hold no grudge against the lady. Simply a misunderstanding that my heart is not eager to let go of. 'Tis a hard thing to explain.' 

Rapieratce sighed at her in aggravation. 

'You are so stubborn sometimes, Dale, I really don't know what to do with you.' 

Daleria laughed slightly then smirked at him. 

'Fine, oh valiant and righteous Rapieratce, I shall attempt to drag my insolent self over to the lady's quarters later.' 

Rapieratce laughed a little at her in return, before finishing up his food then trudging unwilling back to his office and the mass of work that he was reluctant to acknowledge. Daleria cleared her own plate soon after, before retiring to her dormitory to think her situation over, and of what to say to the badger lady. Dropping down onto her bunk, she stared up at the ceiling above her as if wanting some inspiration to come from it. No such luck, and soon her mind began to wander slightly. 

_How that confounded colonel manages to talk me into doing things I never otherwise would have is getting quite out of hand. I must get myself back at him later.___

_Indeed?___

_I thought my conscience was over with me already?___

_Think about it. You still have something going on with Consellariel. I'm here to replace Rapieratce by pushing you to the point of immense guilt to go to the badger lady.___

_Mossflower save me now._

Reluctant as she was, Daleria knew that she was going to have to move sooner or later. Thinking her situation over carefully, she looked back on all the past happenings and realized that she had indeed had been a fool to put all her frustrations upon Consellariel. It was an act that must have seemed utterly incredulous to anybeast who did not know her. The captain cursed her own stubbornness and hot headedness, but was grateful that Consellariel still had the patience and compassion to put up with her attitude rather than pound her and cast her off the mountain. One day, she was going to have to pound some sense into herself not to act so rashly when ever occasions such as this cropped up, hard though it might be. It might save her from some unwanted situations such as this. 

Finally taking things upon herself to get up, Daleria pulled herself up a floor to Consellariel's quarters. Taking a deep breath as she stopped outside the badger lady's door, she prepared herself for the ugly affair that was going to happen not long after. It took all the will inside of her to knock on the door and not to run away and hide in some unknown dark corner that nobeast knew of. Consellariel's by then trademark "enter" reached her ears, and the hare nervously pushed the door open and walked in, saluting to the badger lady in the process. Consellariel saw her, and immediately put down what she had previously been doing. 

'Daleria? What brings you here?' 

'Well, marm... Rapieratce has been talking to me the past few weeks, and I suppose I have to admit that I have been quite the inconsiderate fool in this matter. I apologize for my rather... _difficult_ behaviour these past few weeks.' 

To Daleria, the words sounded stupid even as they left her mouth. She felt like melting and flowing away. Consellariel looked at her for a moment, surprise evident on her striped face. 

'Well, captain, this is a surprise. I'm merely glad that this matter is clear of. In return, I suppose that I myself must be criticized for the fact that I had done some rather unnecessary actions on my part as well. It must have been severely hard on you. I must say that I do not blame you for you behaviour towards me on any part.' 

Daleria breathed out a mental sigh of relief. 

'I am glad myself, marm. More than I can say.' 

*   
Daleria shivered slightly against the cold December wind, pulling her long sleeved jacket closer around her to shut out the prodding cold. Rapieratce did not seemed overly affected, letting his outer jacket go unbuttoned while the rest of the crew from Salamandastron froze. Daleria suspected that he was part alien. He was too... perfect. Not that she was going to complain. They, as in the colonel, brigadier, sergeant and herself, were sitting in a Guosim log boat, halfway down the river Moss and on their way to Redwall. The thought alone brought a smile to her face. Redwall. What a marvel, the red sandstone walls, hued in the colour of rust and that of the russet apple. The large corridors, the cosy ambience, a complete wonder of peace and tranquility inside a practical safe haven for all who would acknowledge it. Friends of old were their, dear to her as anybeast could be, and furthermore, Daleria longed to see the dibbuns, friends of hers of which she mingled with considerably the last time she was there. There was also the issue of the food. The stunning amount of fare the Redwallers could conjure up in their massive stone ovens and giant kitchens was positively alarming, not that the captain was complaining. The vittles were as good as they could get in Redwall. The company to share the fare with was even better. Talks and debates in the great hall were common, mostly amusing and drawing humorous points from everybeast as much as they surfaced wise words of wisdom. Daleria clearly remembered one speech that Jemerian had directed to her. 

_There are many things in this world that should have been yours, and many will come to you also. Have grief for those that you have lost, but do not mourn you life as empty. There will be times where the path will not be as clear, not as smooth, and also times when the fog will engulf you and your senses. It will confuse, mislead and misguide you. But if you have faith, in you as your being here, as you in your living of your life and destiny, as you in the mingle of the roar of the waves, swimming onward, you will reach your path, may it lead off the beaten track, through the mud, and cross the bramble, as long as you listen to your heart, you will find a way. You will be helped, aided, counselled as much as you may be deceived, for there are many in life who have more wisdom than yourself, and many more that would be willing to give it. Do not be as rash or hot headed as you can be, but rather think, be it not as often as most, of what you are, and what you can be, and what you will do that will affect all others in this strange world. Think not but a minute, not but an hour, but think a day, and within that day, the sun may dip beyond the western horizon, and moon may rise, like a sickle, cutting the sky, but you will know that the next dawn approaches, as the next day in your life, a next chapter in your story. You will learn to appreciate what has been given to you, may it seem unfair in your eyes, there will be many things that you will face, that nobeast else in history will, and that will be your test. You cannot be guided, you cannot be led, but as it is, you cannot be deceived. It will be you, and your conscience, and from there, it will be to your life, your experiences, your doubts, your fears, your ambitions, your achievements, your confidence and your very soul, that penetrates, deeper than the sharpest knife could cleave, lower than the hardiest mole could delve, and wiser, wiser than the wisest will ever be, for it will be your soul, your heart, your mind. It will merge, one day, and confuse you, and lead you on a path that is not any other. A path, which you must walk, without the tracks to go, and only your heart to guide you, only your head to warn you, only you soul, to feed you, only your being to take you, only yourself to lead, or mislead you. For someday, somehow, you will find, there will no longer be such a thing as fair, because in your eyes, you will dominate all your senses, and one day take control, of your heart, body and soul, until nothing seems shallow, nothing seems bounded, for everything has a way, a time, a place. It is not for you to decide who might live, breathe, or who might die and fade away, it is only their being who will say, and their truth which betray them, and guide them to your blade. It is not you whom they should blame, yet it is not them of who you should hold guilt to. Neither of you is to blame. For everything under this sky, will take the test. It will show, which path you will yourself on, something you are deemed to do, in your mind, or is it something you wanted to do in your heart, or something you were forced to do in your body? If you see, you will find, evil chose to be evil, it was not forced, it did not relent to some greater force, and it did not let itself be pushed, nor shoved, into being evil, because evil chose that path. The seed of evil chose to be sown into chaos and power and greed and misery for the sake of what it craved, more than we crave, for they crave power, and wealth, and dominance over all others, and they choose to do it through forces to their own liking, for they blinded, by themselves, by theirs hearts, by their own soul, that it was the better path, the speedier, the proper, the equivalent of majesty. Evil chose to black, but others chose to be white. Good chose the path it takes, not because it did not want to be evil, for there is nothing such evil in an untainted soul nor something such as good. It is a path, shadowed on all sides, a shadow that is only broken by you walking past it and shining you inner light onto it. For in your soul, you will lead yourself to the lightest part of the shadow in your mind, and from there your heart will then show you the way. And while you walk that path, you will find that there is still not track, nothing to lead you, nothing to stop you, and that by any means, you can turn from your alighted path, choose another road, and live another way. Evil, will never truly be evil, until their paths stops in evil, and that is only in death, or the corruption of the total soul, when they find no other guide, and their light will not allow them to see any more from where they have stopped. And death is not for anybeast to deal out. Do not be quick to think that you can give out judgement as you please. My heart leads me not to your sword, and you, and you do not lead your sword to me, for you see me not as evil, and my heart, does not see you as evil to me. So do not be quick or hasty in your life, to plough through the shadow. For even the most evil, the vilest of all creatures has a heart and a light that can be turned. But in his mind, in his mind, it is not for us to meddle nor corrupt. For you, and only you, can take a path other than your own, and only counsel may shift it, be it only the slightest. But like an angle, in the long run, you run that appointed angle, and you find that the difference from the path you might taken is great, though the angle you shift is small. All are like this. Do not think your life is dominated by a path. You simply choose, it could a path, a journey, whatever you minds eye puts it to be, but we simply live, and we carve out another day out of our lives, thus we are carving another chapter in our book, another league in our road, another leg in our journey. We do not simply cut off from our path. You would not slay me, but you would slay Vaxial, for in your mind, in your control, you see Vaxial as the enemy. But consider this. Vaxial also thinks likewise of you._

Daleria smiled to herself. How right the abbess was. Trailing her left paw through the water, she let the scenery change her, from the seamless sands of the western shore to the bountiful greenery of Mossflower. She was leaning back on the colonel, feeling very contented simply lying there in the log boat. Everything was at peace. The captain could not wait to reach Redwall. The colonel looked down at her, murmuring slightly, his eyes glazed over slightly. 

'Consellariel would never approve of this, y'know.' 

Daleria twisted around to look up at Rapieratce. The colonel cast his eyes away from hers. 

'What do you mean?' 

'I'm a colonel. I'm not meant to have any overly close personal relationships. At least not within term. It's supposed to not affect my judgement.' 

'I couldn't care less, 'Atce. Consellariel can throw that rule out the window.' 

'You make it sound so easy, Dale. I might get suspended from office because of this.' 

'Consellariel wouldn't dare.' 

'I don't know, Dale, not truly. The rules are clearly stated. As a colonel I was brought up to closely obey all of the rules, especially those set for me. Galde for one would not be too happy at my current state of affairs. Rules aren't the bally easiest thing for me to overrule.' 

Daleria snuggled only closer to Rapieratce. She was far too contented to let such a trivial thing such as rules spoil her day, even though she felt her conscience nag at her. She could deal with the problem later. 

'Too bad for you, then.' 

* 

Three Days On 

* 

The company of Guosim shrews and Salamandastron hares had been trudging through the density of inner Mossflower for a day since they had landed the shrew log boats, and finally, Redwall began to come into sight. Daleria broke out into an all out smile as she watched the sandstone abbey grow in size and majesty as their neared. She heard the ringing of the bells, Methuselah and Matthias, and knew that they had been spotted. The abbess might come out to receive them, even, if they were fortunate enough, which Daleria dearly hoped they would be. What would she give to see her old friend as soon as she could. 

* 

'Jemerian!' 

Daleria flew ahead of the pack of Guosim and Salamandastron hares, hugging her old friend fiercely. The abbess laughed slightly. 

'Daleria! It is good to see you well. I was hoping that you would be able to make it here, my friend.' 

'You doubted that I actually wouldn't?' 

The two friends laughed together. It felt good, back in familiar yet different a territory. Many of her other friends from Redwall were also coming out to greet them. A young squirrel in particular, barely out of dibbunhood, rushed up to her. Daleria gasped when she saw him. 

'No! This cannot be the Thrush that I left behind a few mere seasons ago!' 

The squirrel grinned and clambered nearly on top of her in an heated embrace. The hare captain got thrown to the ground, eliciting much laughter from those around them. Rapieratce watched with a raised eyebrow. Her old companion when she was at Redwall, Thrush, the dibbun who had got himself lost during the berry picking and stumbled upon her, lost in Mossflower. It had been near impossible to separate the two of them at her stay at the great sandstone abbey. It felt wonderful. It made her feel so alive. Like nothing could get in her way, or turn her down. Like tomorrow would erase everything that had happened, and all would be good again. Truly to live, and live with purpose. A simple, yet unrestrained and bold feeling. Something freedom would envy. Daleria struggled up, pushing Thrush playfully off her, finally composing herself enough to introduce her fellow members from Salamandastron who were all waiting, slightly bemused. Nodding to Jemerian, she started. 

'This,' 

Daleria pointed to Rapieratce, 

'is colonel Rapieratce, the only current hare who has been able to best me in swordplay, of which I assure you, he will get heavily abused for. You may have met him before, the last time I was here. Highest ranking hare on the mountain currently being abused by yours truly, and somebeast I seem to be far too overly attached to for my own good.' 

Daleria had to duck a swipe to a head for the last two comments. Moving on, she pointed to Remora. 

'Second highest ranking, though I still prefer torturing 'Atce to Remora here. Brigadier with a sense of humanity, something you don't find too often in me. If you ask me, something is going on between her and Glamoren.' 

There, she had to dance away from a seething brigadier and a equally as mad major who were both ready to murder her. Laughing at Glamoren, who scowled at her, she went on, 

'Calm down, I was only jesting! The major here, who is trying to behead me, is the south pawed Glamoren, whom I have awarded my personal degree in fooling around with Rapieratce. Only other hare besides me who dares to, at any rate.' 

Finally reaching Longrunn, she finished off. 

'Sergeant Longrunn, first person in my patrol to knock sense into me. Wonderful job he does. Not very well paid, save for me biting his head off every now and then, and the access dump of boring councils that I never bothered to attempt attending. That, my friends, is the lot of jolly fools me and my friends are. For those that can't remember me, woe to you. I'll behead you when I have the time.' 

Laughing, thus, the contingent of shrews and hares were led into Redwall. 

* 

'No!' 

'Yes.' 

'No! Captain Daleria Windbind, if you think you are going to talk me into doing this, you are absolutely out of your bally mind. No matter how much I love you, there is _no_ way in Mossflower I'm going to do this.' 

'No, I'm _not_ out of my mind, and yes you _are_ going to do this. Be it if I have to do so by force. And why are you so special that you use my last name?' 

'Because I am. What are you going to do, push me into the meadowcream?' 

'Don't tempt me, sah.' 

'Don't try to bribe me by calling me "sah". It isn't going to work.' 

Glamoren, Remora and Longrunn sat on the battlements, watching in interest at Daleria tried to get Rapieratce into the kitchens to help, were preparations were going on full scale. In this case, a bunch of moles were demolishing the entire kitchen and throwing everything into havoc with the deeper n' ever pie, giant scale, that they were making. Even the lithest of hares would not get out of there alive. Rapieratce knew enough of his Redwall history to try and get out of it. Rapieratce glared at the three officers grinning madly at him. 

'You three keep on doing that, and I'll make sure that I'm not the only one getting into this mess.' 

In unison, the trio replied, still grinning their heads off, 

'Yes, sah!' 

Grumbling and moaning, and trying desperately to peel Daleria off him and the idea, the colonel backed away from the captain as much as he could. Daleria only pulled him harder, trying to drag him into the kitchens. Signalling to the watching three, they pounced, as if on cue. Rapieratce struggled madly to get away from the grips of four of his own officers. 

'You planned this whole bally assault, didn't you, Dale? Let go of me, right now!' 

Nobeast heeded him, and he was dragged, kicking and shouting, off to the abbey kitchens. It was already chaos when they entered. Dibbuns threw cherries at each other, meadowcream flew thick and fast, blueberry paste was on the walls and floor, potatoes were mashed all over the tables, and the kitchen helpers scrambled to get the foods that were intact into the stores. Even Jemerian was standing half drenched in meadowcream, chucking half of a pasty shell off her head towards Foremole, laughing uproariously. Order was not the priority. Even the abbess threw it out the window. Action turned to the five hares that entered. The dibbuns who knew Daleria grinned malicious smiles that should not have been on their lips, as with a subtle flick of her paw, they attacked with surprising order and efficiency. Remora, Glamoren, Longrunn and Daleria all dropped the colonel and scurried off to various other corners of the kitchen, while cherries flew towards the still half stunned colonel. Rapieratce cursed slightly under his breath before dropping to the floor out of instinct, the cherries thus pelting an unfortunate Glamoren and several squirrels who were all not fast enough to get out of the way. Jumping up, he flicked his head to the right as a patch of meadowcream came for him, after which he bent his body in a twist around a table to avoid a filled pastry from murdering him. Rapieratce had to spin a full three sixty to avoid a blob of raspberry jam sent his way courtesy of Daleria, before throwing himself over a dibbun to avoid a peach flung by Glamoren. It was due for pay back time. Randomly grabbing a pawful of dried apple rings as he jumped, the colonel gave up self restraint and dignity as he dripped them into cream and flung them off towards Longrunn and Remora. Both hit target, and the sergeant ended up looking like a clown with two well placed apple rings over his eyes, while Remora had attained two on her ears and one down her tunic. Everybeast roared with laughter. Smartly flicking his lithe body away from a handful of sugar cubes, Rapieratce prepared his full assault. Grabbing a wooden bowl filled with orange pulp, he twisted away from another assault of cherries, grabbing a bottle of red currant jam and emptying it in as he went, before filling in some apple cubes meant for pie. Jumping over a dibbun with surprising balance, not once dirtying himself, the colonel proceeded to snatch a ready made pie cover from a tabletop that was stacked with pastries, laying atop his makeshift pie. In all the mayhem, he had managed to stray behind Daleria without her noticing him. The captain was too busy pelting Thrush with onions. Delicately picking himself over to Daleria, he tapped her shoulder. When the captain turned to see who it was, he put on his most wicked smile. 

'Surprise!' 

The bowl emptied itself onto her face. Howling, the captain tried to attack the colonel, but by the time she had got the orange pulp out of her eyes, he had somehow fled the kitchen. And marvel. His tunic was still perfectly clean.   



	10. The Annals

::D/A:: 

Disclaimer: ... 

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but the annal's cannot really be D/A-anized, so you will have to wait until I get to around chapter 61-ish of the original before the _real_ D/A plot comes out. *evil grin* 

* 

'Dale.' 

'What?' 

'Sorry about the orange. But I have to say, you deserved it.' 

The colonel ducked a swipe to his head. Daleria glowered at him, though there was humour in her eyes. The colonel only laughed. They were in Cavern Hole again, eating supper on their third day at Redwall. The abbess soon stood up after they had finished their meal. The tables all quietened down in the presence of their abbess, respectfully waiting for her to begin. 

'Many things have gone on in our presence, and friends some of us thought lost have resurfaced. No doubt many of you know these hares whom we are most delightfully entertaining to from neigh four seasons back now, and the faithful Daleria from more than seven seasons from this day. In these days, many occasions have passed us by, and pasts remained shrouded still. I vouch, then, for a retelling of all that our friends would warrant themselves to tell, for it is a tale I doubt many of us here have fully heard.' 

Jemerian turned her head to Daleria, who stood up cordially on her part. 

'I would be honoured, both as a guest here, and as the annoying hare that partook in Redwall's everyday life so long ago. But I only have one request.' 

Jemerian nodded at her young friend, 

'And that would be...?' 

Daleria grinned and pointed to Rapieratce. 

'He starts first.' 

Cavern Hole fell over laughing as the colonel objected to "sabotage", of which his pleas fell on death ears. Rapieratce was left with no choice but to start the ball rolling, and soon everybeast was gathered together to listen to his life story. The colonel made himself comfortable and started. 

'I suppose my life would not be as colourful as the captain's, but I suppose it'll have to make do. It is a long story, so you bally well better make yourselves comfortable.' 

_*Flashback*_

* 

'Move you footpaws, boy!' 

Rapieratce gritted his teeth as he wrenched his blade away from a lock with Galde's before bringing it parallel with his arm in an awkward position to block off the older hare's assault. Unfolding his arm, he slashed forward as hard as he could before spinning himself off the blade. The colonel, Galde, turned his arm around in a turn before twisting it in a fleeting movement, which ended up disarming the young Rapieratce. The young lieutenant sighed in aggravation and disappointment at his loss. He was letting his standard drop. He usually lasted longer than half and hour with the colonel. Right then, he only mustered up twenty minutes against Galde and his arms were already aching in addition to the fact that his paws felt numb from handling his rapier. The young hare bent down to retrieve his blade, whilst Galde simply sheathed his own. Galde looked at him. 

'What happened, 'Atce? You seem upset, wot.' 

Rapieratce quickly retrieved his rapier. 

'Wot, sah? Nothing is wrong.' 

Galde laughed. 

'You never were good at lying, wot. Relax, Rapieratce, it's simply a matter of time. You simply have to chuck in some more bally practice.' 

Rapieratce sighed in disappointment, very angry with himself. Why couldn't he get his technique right? He always let is slip up at the last moment. If he kept it up, he would end up getting worse instead of improving. Galde ruffled his ears. 

'Live and let live, Rapieratce. You're already at the top of your standard now.' 

Rapieratce wasn't satisfied. True, he preferred slow progress to rushing things, but when he did do something, rushed or no, he wanted it to be absolutely top standard, no exceptions allowed. And right then he was very upset at himself. 

'But sah! I've made that same bally mistake thrice in a row up to date! Every blinkin' day!' 

Galde laughed slightly. 

'Calm down, lieutenant! M'boy, it's just how you make the turn. If you bring up your flippin rapier in order to block off my attack and spun at the same blinkin time, you have to make a quick spin with your paw. You let go of yore bally major grip, wot, and all I have to do is strike at the right place at the right blinkin time and you would not stand a chance. Try instead a turn over you head, wot, you'll be able to parry without loosing your grip.' 

Rapieratce drank in the information, doing a quick experiment in the process on his own. 

'Thank you, sah.' 

The colonel smiled. 

'You've got practice, 'Atce. You don't want to miss it. You're nearly late.' 

Rapieratce paled, made a quick salute and yelped before running off to his lower quarters, cursing his absent mindedness before grabbing his quarterstaff and throwing off his rapier onto his bunk instead of the wall peg in his haste, then running at top speed towards the training ground. He made it just in time. The lady Consellariel smiled when she saw the young lieutenant arrive helter-skelter in a major state of disarray, panting. 

'Training with Galde again, young one?' 

Rapieratce snapped into immediate attention. 

'Yes, marm.' 

Consellariel laughed. 

'You work too hard, lieutenant. You should lighten up instead of working so much. You are already ahead of your order.' 

Rapieratce smiled weakly, remembering his mistake a few minutes ago. Consellariel looked shrewdly at him for a moment. She then looked pointedly at the lieutenant. 

'You're seasons above the others in skill here. They would not be able to take the training you receive. Not half of what you get. You've got seasons more training than those here would get. You cannot master the art of swordplay in the short time you've practised. Give it time, lieutenant, you are putting way too much pressure on yourself.' 

* 

_*Back to the future*_   


Daleria could not help but laugh at the first recollection of Rapieratce's. 

'Galde beat you, did he? I have to congratulate him. Absolutely genius, the old colonel.' 

Rapieratce sent her a withering look before continuing. 

* 

_*Flashback*_

Rapieratce sat in Galde's study, curled up on a chair and reading a book, oblivious to everything else. It was winter, and the entire Salamandastron was on a holiday. No training, no early wakening, life was good. Rapieratce let himself indulge in his pastime for a moment, intent on finishing the book before he retired for bed. It was dark outside, and a fire was burning in the colonel's study. Galde tapped the top of the book with his pace-stick. 

''Atce!' 

There was a faint mumbling of "go away sah, I'm busy" or something of the like, though Rapieratce never moved. His eyes were still fixed onto the text, not caring of what the colonel would do to him as long as he could still read the book. Nothing was going to move him. He thought. Next thing he knew, Galde had artfully tilted the chair up from behind, sending Rapieratce tumbling onto the carpet in the study. The lieutenant groaned, paw still holding his page in the book, lying sprawled on the carpet, not liking the abrupt interruption in the least. 

'Sah!' 

Galde looked impassively at him. Rapieratce did not make an attempt to rise, simply righting himself slightly and curling up on the carpet instead, taking up his book and continuing his reading. Galde sighed, wondering how on Mossflower he was going to peel the book off his student. 

''Atce, your rapier's on fire.' 

Not moving his eyes away from the text, Rapieratce mumbled back. 

'Impossible. It's on my wallpeg in my room, and I locked the door before I left, blew out all my candles, closed the windows and there is no flint or tinder left, I ran out last week.' 

Galde sighed again, trying another tactic. 

'Consellariel's at the door.' 

'Nice try sah, but I happen to have hearing. The badger lady is working on something in her forge, and furthermore, your door is closed, and unless you have some sort of power to see through doors, sah, I doubt she's outside.' 

Galde glared at his impudent student, who did not show much more than a fixated look, which was directed at his book. Time for desperate measures. Galde expertly hooked his pace-stick under the cover, and with an artful flick, tossed it up into the air and directly out of Rapieratce's paws, catching it deftly and placing it on his self. When Rapieratce tried to get it back, the colonel rapped him smartly across the paw. Rapieratce looked in frustration over at Galde, upset that his rather comfortable reading time had ended with him on the floor and the book on the colonel's shelf, of which he knew perfectly well that he was forbidden to touch. 

'Sah!' 

'You had better get going for bed. It's late.' 

'Sah! I was reading that book. At least let me have it so I can read it in my dorm! And it's winter!' 

'No.' 

'Please?' 

'No.' 

'Colonel! It's my bally book.' 

'If you keep it up, 'Atce, it won't be for much longer.' 

'Sah.' 

'Why are y'so intent on finishing it in the first place?' 

'Mother sent it over last bally season sah, but I had no time.' 

'Hmm... Your pater retired last season, no?' 

'Yes, sah.' 

'Believe he's headed over to deep Mossflower now.' 

'He said that he knew a place where they could settle down in peace there.' 

'Should say so. Used to disappear for a good two days longer than he should have back in the old days when he got dispatched into Mossflower.' 

'Right sah, but can I have the book now?' 

'No.' 

'Sah!' 

'I have said my final say, lieutenant. Reclaim it from me tomorrow. To bed. Now.' 

Rapieratce nodded at last, sighing in resignation and defeat, looking mournfully at his book on the shelf of which he knew he would not get to finish that night. Mumbling under his breath to himself, he walked out of the study after bidding his senior good night. 

'Heh. Should have trained as a regular if I'd known my books would end up confiscated, but _no,_ I just _had_ to go be a colonel in training. Ach.' 

There was a shuffling of papers from behind as a call from Galde ringed in his ears. 

'Your book seems to like my fireplace, 'Atce!' 

The lieutenant promptly shut up and dashed off to bed. 

* 

'Sah. My book.' 

Galde feigned innocence. 

'Book? What book?' 

'The book you kept from me yesterday.' 

'Why don't you get it yourself?' 

Rapieratce groaned mentally. As innocent as the question may have seemed, the lieutenant knew full well what was headed on for him. Sighing, he slipped into reflex mode. 

'I was not supposed to touch it, sah.' 

'Why?' 

'Because it was on your shelf sah.' 

'Thus?' 

'You being the higher ranking hare, sah, I was thus not allowed to move anything.' 

'And?' 

'I want my book back?' 

'Rapieratce.' 

Galde rolled his eyes at his student, moving to his study and removing the book, tossing it lightly over to Rapieratce, who caught it with seemingly by then practised ease, and instantly opened it and began to read, subconsciously sinking into the chair that was unofficially his in the colonel's study. Galde sighed in resignation. There would be no moving Rapieratce now. Unless... Galde took an seemingly inconspicuous looking envelope out of one of his drawers, casually playing with the paper with all too discerning ease. Which was precisely what caught Rapieratce's eye, being trained to look out for signs such as thus. Bringing his eye level slightly higher to above that of the book, the lieutenant slowly brought his book down to get a clearer view of what Galde was doing, paling as he took a better look at the letter. In a sudden flash, he recognized it and howled protest. 

'Sah! Please say you didn't!' 

Galde hid a smile, discreetly laughing, but showed no change in emotion on the outside. 

'Whatever do you mean, _lieutenant_?' 

'It's not for me, sah, say that letter's not for me!' 

Galde looked sceptically over at his seemingly overreacting apprentice. 

'You really need to learn to get a grip of yourself, Rapieratce.' 

'Sah, you promised!' 

'You know I did not promise anything...' 

'Colonel! You did and you know that.' 

'Still.' 

'Then it's not for me.' 

'I didn't say that either, Rapieratce.' 

Glowering at the colonel Rapieratce snapped his book shut, and tried to head for the door. When you cannot face a problem with Galde, he had learnt, run for it. And run very fast. Unfortunately for the young lieutenant, the colonel had long foresaw this occurrence, and with a quick flick of his footpaw, he shut the door, locked it, and pocketed the key. Rapieratce scowled inwardly. The letter now _had_ to be for him. Galde resisted a grin and dropped the letter onto Rapieratce's waiting paw. Dreading what was inside, Rapieratce reached for a letter opener, slitting the official seal of Salamandastron open in a quick slip of the blade. Reluctantly, he pulled out the letter, sending his quick green eyes flitting over the sentences. Rapieratce howled again when he had read the contents. 

'By Mossflower, sah! _Sergeant?!_ Whatever happened to the rank of lance corporal!?' 

Galde could no longer resist a quick smirk at his furious student. 

'Y'know, 'Atce, more officers are _happy_ to be promoted. You, obviously, aren't.' 

'And I have true reason not to be, sah! It's barely been four seasons since I took my post! And I thought if I were to be in the first place, it'd be lance corporal, not a flippin sergeant!' 

Galde snorted. 

'A hare like you? Lance Corporal? Don't make me laugh, 'Atce. You think I'd waste skill like yores on a bally lance corporal?' 

'You _did _have something to do with this, colonel, I know you did.' 

'Never! You say me biased?' 

'No, but-' 

'Rapieratce, you know that one of the first qualities of a colonel is not to be biased, be it having to cut off personal relations to do so. It's your promotion, and I know that you more than deserve it. _Don't _object, or I'll just have to get Consellariel to promote you to captain and shut your incessant mutterings about being incompetent up. Off you go. I have to see the lady. Meet me back here at noon, I have to get you versed with your new duties.' 

'Yes sah.' 

Knowing he could not object, Rapieratce slipped the promotion notice back in the envelope, grabbed his abandoned book off the chair, gave the colonel a quick nod and walked out of the study. 

_I knew I should never have agreed to this. To be a galloper again._

* 

*_Back to the future*_   


'You _objected_ to being promoted?! Rapieratce, I do not believe you.' 

'Ah, go stuff your mouth with some oranges, Dale, I'm trying to listen. This is one part of Rapieratce I wish I had been allowed to witness first hand.' 

Longrunn got a response in the form of a plum hitting him on the head. 

*_Flashback*_

* 

Galde sighed as he dropped down on the ledge seat in the forge, talking to Consellariel not as a officer would to a commander but as a friend to another. Consellariel poured him a beaker of cordial as she sat at her desk, watching her old companion with a knowing smile on her face. 

'Rapieratce giving you trouble again?' 

'Trouble, 'Ella? More like the lack of it!' 

'Most officers would be partially glad of that. I think Beuatrill and Mianent are both going to lay their paws on the recruits if they don't follow orders. Most hilarious.' 

Galde smiled slightly as he shook his head. 

'Give them to me for one day and maybe I'll appreciate 'Atce a bit more, but for now... He's still so withdrawn and reluctant to ascend to what he truly can be. Promote him to sergeant and he says he wants to be a lance corporal. I don't understand him.' 

'True. He had skills for a captain even four seasons back. But if I'd promoted him to captain, I think he wouldn't be able to take it. Rapieratce is not... as eager as others would be. He is very laid back in doing what would bring him glory.' 

Galde laughed slightly. 

'I'd have to tie him to a bedpost to stop him from perfecting everything I teach him. He's reluctant to move on to another subject when he has not attained some sort of medal for the first. It gets annoying sometimes. Had to push him to bed yester night. Refused to abandon his book.' 

'Would he not read in his dorm?' 

'Had to take the book from him altogether.' 

Consellariel laughed slightly. 

'One day, he is going to drop dead from over exhaustion, I'd grant you.' 

'Try telling that to him.' 

'That bad?' 

'He won't even use my first name!' 

'That is bad. He's known you for more than eight seasons, hasn't he?' 

'Nine. Even Glamoren uses my first name from time to time and I don't even see the chap that often.' 

'Informality does not seem to be one of Rapieratce's finer points, I suppose.' 

'Persistency is, though. You will not believe what it takes to stop him training once he begins.' 

'Taking his rapier away from him might help.' 

'I'd like to have the courage to do so, 'Ella! That bally blade's his life, I tell you.' 

Consellariel raised an eyebrow at him. Galde continued. 

'Tried to pry it off him once. He refused to let go. Absolutely insane, the boy. You'd swear he's sown himself to it. Do you believe I had to get Paragorn to help me? And even the two of us couldn't get the blade off him. Shoved a footpaw into my face and ran for it. Wish he didn't, though.' 

'It hurt that badly?' 

'No. It didn't hurt at all. What hurt was how he ended up apologizing to me forty times a minute.' 

* 

Three Seasons On. 

* 

'Colonel!' 

'What is it, Rapieratce?' 

'Not again!' 

Rapieratce held up another promotion envelope. The mask he wore on his face was one of utter disbelief. Galde swore he would have laughed out loud had it not been for the fact that he had to save his dignity. Rapieratce ditched the letter opener and tore the envelope open. The sergeant paled, as he had done three seasons ago, when he had finished, the letter dropping from his numb paws. Hoarsely, he asked for a confirmation from the colonel, who watched him coolly from his desk. 

'Captain?' 

'Yes, Rapieratce. Do you have a problem?' 

'Bu-but sah!' 

'Don't put up your protest, _captain_, because I will not be listening. I expect you on Mossflower patrol with Glamoren tomorrow. Take down to Redwall and back again. I want the full scope.' 

Struck dumb with all the current happenings, Rapieratce took the order without questions, walking numbly out of the door. He met Glamoren down the hallway. His partner raised an eyebrow at him, eyeing the pale captain. Knowingly, he looked down at the envelope and commented, 

'Promotion again?' 

'Yes.' 

'What is it this time? Major?' 

Rapieratce spluttered indignantly, breaking out of his shocked reverie at the casual remark. 

'Major?! Surely you joke! The day I become a major is the day I fly to the moon!' 

'Then what is it?' 

'Captain.' 

'Only?' 

Rapieratce whacked his partner on the head with the envelope. 

'Oh, shut your bally mouth. Galde's issued a patrol.' 

'Where to?' 

'Inner Mossflower until the Abbey.' 

'Ah. Oh well. A long trip means I get to whack you with my lance more that I would normally.' 

'I still don't get why you do that, 'Moren.' 

'It's to knock some badness into you. You're far too sensible sometimes.' 

'I thought that was a good thing.' 

'Not in my world.' 

* 

Rapieratce sighed as he and Glamoren took their time pushing their way through inner Mossflower. Greenery was everywhere, and the carpeted forest floor muffled their pawsteps. Glamoren prowled up front while Rapieratce lingered back, intent on covering every detail. Ears pricked, the newly appointed captain kept his senses on alert and looked out for any minute sign whatsoever of trouble. Peace though there had been in Mossflower for seasons by then uncounted, there were reports over the seasons of small groups of vermin, most of them less than ten, lingering around the inner reaches of Mossflower, where spotting them would be relatively difficult, and ambush was clearly an easy thing to accomplish against those untrained and careless in their travels in the area. Rapieratce was not intent on playing the fool and messing up his first patrol as a captain through the dereliction of his duty. As was _de rigueur _whenever he and Glamoren were on patrol together,he kept to the back while the sergeant roved ahead. Rapieratce caught the sound of a breaking twig, and with impulsive reflex, Rapieratce let out a shrill whistle, dropping to the ground just as Glamoren did, while two arrows flew overhead, cutting the air with alarming speed and accuracy. In a fraction of a second, the two friends were up and charged towards the area from which the arrows had come. Pushing back various forms of vegetation, Rapieratce fought desperately to reach his unknown adversary, finally reaching a clearing. What he saw made him laugh, causing Glamoren behind him to bowl into him in shock. Hopelessly laughing by then, Rapieratce made no attempt to answer his partner's furious questions, only yanking Glamoren's lance away from him. After awhile, Rapieratce finally got a grip of himself. 

'I say, father, next time you want to say a bally hello, kindly do so without trying to murder your son first, wot.' 

Rapieratce's father put down his bow and smiled. 

'Rapieratce. What on Mossflower are you doing here? You scared me and your bally mater half to death. We thought you and your friend, were some flippin searats that have been prowling hereabouts.' 

Rapieratce smiled and embraced his father, his mother coming out of the underbrush, holding her rapier in front of her until she saw him. Smiling, she walked forward and tapped him on the shoulder with the blade. Rapieratce turned around and hugged his mother, nearly smothering her. His mother laughed. 

'To think I nearly killed you. You have an awful knack for getting into trouble, 'Atce.' 

Glamoren whacked Rapieratce upside the head with his paw, yanking his lance back in the process. 

'Perfect boy? Get into trouble? Surely you jest, marm!' 

Rapieratce rolled his eyes at his irrepressible partner. His father grinned. 

'Takes after his mother. So, what rank be you now? Galde should have worked you half to death by now, seeing I'm not around.' 

Rapieratce shook his head. 

'Barely. Don't feel as if he has at any rate. Problem is he keeps on promoting me. Already a captain and it's barely been seven bally seasons.' 

'So late? I'm surprised Galde didn't promote you on your third season.' 

All three hares laughed at the shocked look of disbelief on Rapieratce's face. 

* 

Rapieratce sat in his dorm, scripting out the report of which he was to pass to Galde that week in a steady, neat script. It was Monday. Glamoren stood at his door, looking in frustration at his partner. It was the first day of the winter season, and Rapieratce had only just returned from a long solo patrol that had taken him two weeks, and already he was intent on finishing the considerably lengthy report that afternoon. Unfortunately for the captain, his friend had already planned out something. There was a friendly fencing match about to take place that noon, and Glamoren was intent on dragging Rapieratce to it, regardless if the captain was going to agree. 

'Come on, 'Atce. That report isn't due in four days!' 

'Still. No bally excuse for tardiness.' 

'Rapieratce, stop being so bally stubborn. There's a fencing match on. I know you want to participate.' 

'I want to finish the report first.' 

'That's a flippin two week long report! It'd take you the whole bally day!' 

'Still.' 

Glamoren threw his paws up in the air. It was time for desperate measures. Sneaking to the captain's bed, the sergeant took Rapieratce's blade off its wallpeg. Zipping back to the door, he called out in a singsong voice. 

'Atce! Look what I discovered on the wall! A nice, sharp rapier!' 

Rapieratce's head immediately shot up from his desk, and the cried out in protest when he saw his most prized possession had been moved from its customary place on the wall. Glamoren immediately took off, running madly to get away from his furious partner whom had run out of his study, slamming the door behind him in the process. The two whirled past a bemused colonel who was on his way to the event, nearly crashing down the staircase while Rapieratce shouted at his partner to give back his blade. Glamoren knew only too well that if he did, Rapieratce would probably behead him with it on the spot, thus ran desperately over to the training grounds where the matches were to take place, not wanted to be overtaken for the sake of his life. Finally, the grounds came into view, and Glamoren stopped. Rapieratce sprinted angrily over to him, snatching the rapier out of his partner's hands with almost unbridled anger. 

'Do _not_ touch my rapier.' 

Glamoren only chuckled, pushing Rapieratce forward, knowing that Rapieratce could not back down from his position then. His plan had worked. Only then did the captain realize what he had got himself into, and immediately tried to back out. To his dismay, he found the colonel had by then appeared at the scene and was looking pointedly at him. He knew that Galde expected him to prove himself on the occasion, thus resignedly joined the ranks of the hares who were all waiting for their turns. Glamoren was going to pay a hefty sum when Rapieratce got out of the mess. His turn, in his opinion, came all too soon for his liking. Swallowing anxiously, he met his opponent. Rapieratce nearly groaned aloud: Captain Paragorn, the resident expert on blades of most sort. Paragorn was notoriously well known for his capability with a blade throughout the mountain's population, and Rapieratce felt a sense of dreadful unease. The whistle was blown, and the two stepped forward and began. Rapieratce waited for Paragorn to make the first move, of which he easily repelled with a smooth stroke of his blade to the left, quickly swerving his blade away upwards, parrying and twisting, making his actions as curt and short as possible, so as not to give Paragorn any openings to catch him off guard. Rapieratce could practically feel Galde watching his every move, so intense was the colonel's glare. Focussing his every action to attacking, Rapieratce put everything he had learnt to practise. The two hares battled back and forth, both waiting for an opening to attack. Rapieratce decided he had to take a risk, Paragorn was far too careful to be easily fooled. Pushing his attacks harder, he made as if to disarm the opposing captain, who immediately took the opening chance to attack. Rapieratce had long anticipated such, thus lifting his blade completely away from the fray, startling his opponent with the sudden moving, causing Paragorn to bring his blade upwards and leaving his guard completely off. With a quick twist of his paw, Rapieratce flicked Paragorn's blade away, winning his match. The crowd of patrollers burst into cheers. Not often was such skill put to test at such extent in Salamandastron. Paragorn smiled shrewdly at Rapieratce, commenting as he picked up his blade. 

'Well, I'll just go have a bally word with 'ol Galde about you, no? The colonel's goin' to get it from me for training you so bally well. I have a flippin contender for the position of blade-master now, don't I? Ach, competition is better than the lack of it. Keep it up, captain, good show!' 

Rapieratce smiled and gave a quick bow to his gracious opponent before filtering out of the event grounds to make way for the next competitor. Galde smiled in satisfaction. His student was finally letting his ability push him forward. Rapieratce smiled when he saw his mentor send a nod of approval in his direction. Maybe he would let Glamoren off this once. Maybe. 

* 

*_Back to the future*_

'Paragorn, now? I remember him, fast chap. Had trouble with him, crafty old hare.' 

'Ah, stuff it Dale. You had more practice than me when you came to Salamandastron.' 

'Oh, trying to say you're better than me, now, are you, dear beloved ever perfect one?' 

'I already proved it.' 

'Dare you prove it again, sah?' 

'We're in Redwall, Dale, and I need to get on with the tale. I'll pay you back later.' 

'Coward.' 

'_Captain_...' 


	11. Deeper into Mossflower Country and deepe...

::D/A:: 

Disclaimer: Yrch. 

A/N: Since I'm sick and can't go to school today, I thought I might as well update... 

* 

Rapieratce strode briskly up to the colonel's study, a sheaf of papers in paw. It was late in the evening, and most of the younger hares were being ushered to bed by fussy parents who were all tired to the bone after a day of chasing after the leverets around the interior. The winter season was often the time that the leverets got into the most mischief, which caused massive headaches all around for the older hares on the mountain. Rapieratce chuckled, ruffling the ears of one that pelted by him. He recognized it as Deternian, and as if on cue, Remora ran up, panting. 

''Atce! Why didn't you stop him?' 

Rapieratce raised an eyebrow at his friend. 

'Babysitting for Emanel again?' 

'And you're not making the job any easier for us! Clandestine is on the lower floors, searching her ears off.' 

Rapieratce chuckled again, stopping momentarily to converse with the befuddled drill sergeant. 

'Why don't you just ask the poor chap to bed?' 

Remora snorted, wiping a trickle of sweat off her brow as she tried to control her breathing. 

'You think all leverets are as obedient as you were? You have to be joking me, 'Atce. This lot of leverets could make even you want to strangle them.' 

The captain laughed slightly. 

'Really? Well, have to be off. Don't run too hard now.' 

Rapieratce ducked his head as Remora tried to punch him, and laughing he went up the corridor. He came to Galde's door, only to find it slightly agape, which was strange, as the old colonel was extremely particular about his door being closed to keep out the drafts that came up from the interior. Not bothering to knock for the moment, the captain pushed the door back, and had to stifle a laugh from escaping when he saw what was inside. Young Deternian, whom Clandestine and Remora were both evidently looking for, was being chased by an exasperated Galde around the study, hefting aloft the colonel's pace stick and laughing in a most discerning way. Rapieratce leaned his form against the door frame, watching with an amused look imprinted on his features. This was certainly a change in schedule for him. The colonel growled as he pushed swiftly past Rapieratce to try and restrain the laughing Deternian. 

'Stand down there looking any more aloof than you already are, Rapieratce, and I'm setting you on double guard for the next five seasons.' 

Rapieratce heeded him not, choosing instead to close the door and lean full back, enjoying the scene enormously. A sudden knocking from behind caused him to move away and open the door, of which Clandestine was behind. Inviting the stunned captain in with a wry smile, Rapieratce watched as her jaw dropped at the rather disturbing scene before them. As Deternian rushed by, Clandestine reached out and grabbed the errant leveret, all while apologizing to the colonel in a rushed gush. Snatching the pace stick out of Deternian's paw, she gave it back to the colonel with a sheepish smile before turning and dragging the mischievous Deternian out of the study. When she had closed the door, Rapieratce began to laugh, chortling slightly. Galde whacked him across the head with his pace stick, muttering about how he was going to fry Rapieratce as soon as he regained his breath. This only made Rapieratce even more amused, and it took some time before he regained himself to pass the colonel the sheaf of papers in his paw. Galde ran his eyes over the document, shaking his head. 

'Your first day back and you've already got the report done? I don't believe you.' 

Rapieratce snorted. 

'And this is coming from the hare of whom demanded I do my reports on time? You used to get in a tiff when I passed up my report on the second day instead of the first.' 

'There is a difference, you realize, between a two day report and a two week report?' 

'You never clarified, sah.' 

'You're impossible, 'Atce, utterly impossible.' 

'That's because you've trained me to be impossible.' 

'Ah, so that's your reason now, is it?' 

* 

The officers' mess was in a complete uproar. Some leverets had decided it would be much fun to cause a food fight there, thus dragging half of the normal mess into the officers' mess, and there was practically no state of control as Consellariel had decided not to turn up. Even Galde could not stop it. Officers were running amok, trying, in vain, to get everybeast under control to no avail. Rapieratce was about to walk into the mess when half a cabbage flew past his head. The stunned captain ducked behind the door as half a pastie flew towards him. Opening the door tentatively, Rapieratce had to keep his head low to get inside without being pelted by some form of edible ammunition. Moving to Galde's side, the captain shouted over the chaos. 

'Sah! What should we do?' 

'What can we do, 'Atce? Go get Consellariel, it's the best we can muster.' 

Fighting his way out, getting hit by a cake on the side of his head in the process, Rapieratce struggled out of the mess and made his way to the forge room, where Consellariel was most likely to be. He looked utterly ridiculous, with cream splattered down one side of his face and half the contents of a pastie spread over his tunic. Dashing as quickly as he could, Rapieratce made it to the forge with as little delay as he could. Knocking, he heard Consellariel beckon to him to enter. Stepping sheepishly in, he gave a smart salute. 

'Lady Consellariel, there is a little... problem in the officers' mess that you might want to acknowledge, marm!' 

Consellariel eyed him with a raised eyebrow, standing and moving towards the door. 

'Very well, move along.' 

Breathing a mental sigh of relief, Rapieratce led her down to the officers' mess, opening the door. The captain promptly shut it again to avoid a cabbage splattering him on the face. A thudding noise could be heard as various types of ammunition thudded against the door. After a moment, Rapieratce mustered up the daring to open the door. A piece of cake instantly flew at him, and the captain ducked out of reflex. The cake smashed itself onto Consellariel. All activity ground to a halt as the occupants of the room realized who they had just struck down. Wearing an amused look on her face, Consellariel entered the mess. Officers waited with bated breath as the badger lady addressed all the leverets, of which their paws fell useless to their sides. Obviously thinking the situation quite funny, Consellariel walked over the Deternian, beckoning the leveret over to tell her the full story, chuckling as the young hare related the tale to her. Everybeast in company breathed a silent cry of relief that the badger lady was not furious with them. Deternian finally wrapped up the relation, and Consellariel stood up. 

'Well, who am I to stop your fun?' 

An utter outroar broke out in accordance to that remark, and soon food was flying everywhere once again. Groaning, all the officers gave up trying to instil control and pushed their way out of the mess. Grumbling, Galde walked next to Rapieratce. 

'Well, there goes lunch, I suppose.' 

The colonel was completely drenched in all forms of food and drink. Being a colonel, most of the leverets took their chances and pelted him with as much as they could. It was not often one could disgrace an officer of that rank and make out of the affair alive. Next to Galde, Rapieratce looked positively clean. 

'I say sah, you looked jolly well messed up.' 

'You state the bloomin obvious, 'Atce. You'll soon learn that high rank comes with its bally disadvantages.' 

The officers were all in a sorry state of affairs. Consellariel laughed as she looked at them. 

'You lot look as if you've been through a war.' 

Scoffs from all sides broke out in return, 

'You want to try going in there, marm? I'll warrant you'd last about five blinkin seconds!' 

'Totally right, old chap! That place's a battlefield!' 

'I'd rather be on a battlefield then there, mind you.' 

Chuckling, Consellariel spoke her piece. 

'Don't worry about your revenge. A certain few leverets are going to have to clean up a certain mess after this.' 

* 

*_Back to the future_* 

'Consellariel actually warranted a food fight?' 

'Heh, you should have seen the aftermath.' 

'True, 'Moren. The leverets were mopping about with rags a good half of the next three days.' 

'Yes. I clearly remember Deternian half dead.' 

'I bet you only remembered because you didn't end up chasing him up half the mountain to send him to bed first, 'Mora.' 

'Well, you have a point, but...' 

* 

Rapieratce sat sleeping in his chair, slumped over a report that he had been writing the night before. Having unknowingly fallen asleep, he never noticed his friends entering his room quietly, holding a weird and strange assortment of things. The winter season was in full swing, and something had lighted the mischief in most of his companions. The officers found it hard to stop, as some of the officers themselves were committing petty crimes of pranks and practical jokes upon each other. This time, poor Rapieratce was the target. Grinning maliciously, Glamoren quietly tugged the captain, chair and all away from his table into the centre of the room. Clandestine, Remora and Rapieratce's other close friend, Mealiney, tried to stifle their laughter at what was to come. Clandestine held two jugs of ice water, Remora a white sheet and Mealiney a few pawfuls of pungent smelling herbs from the kitchen. Glamoren himself carried a pawful of green plant dye. Ingredients for disaster. With a wink from Glamoren, they plunged into action. Remora tossed the sheet over the slumbering captain, then Clandestine sent one jug of water pouring over him. As the captain spluttered into a shocked awakening, Mealiney tossed the herbs over him, where they stuck onto the drenched sheet like strange green ornaments. Working together, Glamoren tossed the plant dye into Clandestine's remaining jug and together, the four of them emptied the by then green coloured dyed water over the captains head. Spluttering and choking on his sudden assault, Rapieratce was no less sensible, though. With a swift snatch of his paw, he grabbed the sheet and tossed it towards Glamoren, where it struck a direct hit, sending herbs and splatters of green water flying onto the others in the process. Growling, he turned to face his ambushers, dripping, cold and green. 

'_Glamoren_!' 

The captain was a sight to behold. His fur had been dyed a tinge green, his white tunic completely ruined. He smelt odd due to the herbs, and his fur was stuck to him by the iced water. His paws shook slightly, whether out of anger or cold, nobeast knew. The others were no better off. Glamoren turned out equally as green and pungent, while the others had random bits of rosemary, thyme and other variations of herbs stuck all over them. The captain narrowed his eyes at the sergeant, who smiled sheepishly at his partner in return. Walking calmly up to Glamoren, the clearly furious captain took hold of the sheet and began to try and strangle his partner with it. Glamoren choked slightly as he yelled out furiously to his three fellow accomplices to help him out, but they had by then all dissolved into peals of laughter. Suddenly, Rapieratce froze mid strangle. Glamoren looked oddly at him, nearly choking himself on the sheet as he fell onto his partner at the sudden stop. Standing right in the door frame was colonel Glade. The colonel tapped the door with his pace stick, stepping in and glaring at his student. Rapieratce managed a weak, green smile before peeling his dripping form off the by then as wet Glamoren, the sheet dropping useless over Glamoren's head. Glamoren stepped deliberately on his partner's footpaw for that. Pointedly looking at the two of them, the colonel pointed to his office with his pace stick before stalking off. Rapieratce glared at his partner and hissed, 

'Now look at what you've bally well got us into, wot!' 

* 

The colonel looked frostily from his dripping student to his dripping student's partner. They were in the colonel's office, awaiting judgement over their act. Rapieratce knew he was most definitely not in a good position. Glamoren looked as if he could not care less, having undergone the treatment many times before. 

'Now, any of you two fiends care to blinkin recall what happened?' 

Glamoren spoke up, much to Rapieratce's surprise. 

'Sah! Played a joke on the captain, sah! Never intended to get strangled sah. Only a practical joke, sah.' 

Glade sent a even icier look to the sergeant, who quirked a smile as to his "sah" joke. Glamoren was notorious for playing jokes on his superiors without giving them reason to reprimand him. Rapieratce turned his head and glared at his partner, who was clearly not helping their situation in the least. The colonel coughed slightly, causing him to return to the at attention stance. Looking fixedly at the grinning Glamoren, he tapped the sergeant on the shoulder with his pace stick. 

'You are on a fizzer, double guard duty tonight. Relieve the hare on duty. Now off with you!' 

Glamoren turned and left, this not being the first punishment of the sort he had received. Rapieratce felt a sudden itch to run after him and flee. He knew perfectly well what was coming next. When it came to teasing, Glade was the best when insulting Rapieratce in all forms. 

'Well, 'Atce. Look at you. Green furred and soaking wet. A bally good impression you set, no?' 

Rapieratce made a point not to comment. The colonel chuckled. 

'Right. No colonel in training has ever done this up to date, methinks. You seem to love to attract pranks, no? What is this, the fourth time this season Glamoren has caught you at unawares.' 

Rapieratce winced, knowing full well that his next comment was not going to help him ease Glade's tirade against him in the least. 

'Sixth, sah.' 

Glade snorted as if personally offended. 

'All the worst! Now, don't let me catch you like this again, 'Atce, or you'll suffer the same fate as Glamoren there, even if it isn't your fault. Consellariel will think I've got an uncivilized, green hare under my blinkin wing. Dismiss!' 

Rapieratce trotted out half heartedly, knowing that the colonel was going to keep to his word, no doubt. It was a bit frightening that that night, Glade found himself drenched in green dye and cold water with a sheet of herbs stuck on his head. What made it even scarier was that the double sentry reported Glamoren never leaving his post that night... 

*Back to the future* 

'You didn't _seriously_ do that, did you, 'Atce...?' 

'Who, me, Dale? 

* 

Rapieratce lay sleeping in his dorm, having completely forgotten the supplementary archery lessons he was supposed to be taking with Galde that winter season, reason being that Rapieratce was utterly horrible at the use of a longbow, which infuriated Glade, since the colonel had been a gifted and respected archer in his day. The night before had been a tiring one, having been that Galde had decided that five tonnes of paperwork was not much for him, thus making him stay up later than usual. Much later. And since Consellariel would not mind due to the winter season breach on early sleeping, Glade had made full use of Rapieratce. The captain had collapsed half dead into bed at the end of it all, his paws still inky blue black and his tunic left unchanged on his back. That was a rare occurrence for the captain who was rather particular about neatness, and when Glade walked into the dorm to check on why his student was late, he was fairly amused, but still slightly peeved at Rapieratce's tardiness on that day, rare though it was. The colonel padded softly out of the room, not awakening Rapieratce, then appeared back not long later. The colonel had decided to take a leaf out of Glamoren's book, taking a jug of ice water up with him... Rapieratce spluttered madly as he woke up to Glade's face, on which was imprinted an evil smile. 

'Morning, 'Atce.' 

* 

A season or so later... 

* 

Rapieratce was on diplomatic duty. Or that would be what Galde would have him say it. Rapieratce sighed. Galde would have him do the most ridiculous things simply for exposure and experience for solo tracks and patrols that lasted longer than normal. Then, he had sent Rapieratce to Redwall. Why? Consellariel wished to further develop their ties, thus send Rapieratce over for a few days. Rapieratce felt like sighing. Why him? Could they not pick on Glamoren for a change? A voice at the back of his head stubbornly reminded him that he was a colonel in training and thus needed this. Rapieratce felt an urge to kick himself. Sighing, he walked up to the gates of Redwall, and began his "diplomatic training". Galde could get on his nerves sometimes. 

After being introduced to all in the Abbey, Rapieratce felt quite at home. After a bit of asking around for the current affairs of that part of Mossflower, the captain had been informed that a young hare had just left the Abbey, heading for Salamandastron. His interest peaked at the mention of his home, Rapieratce poked around further to get more information. Evidently a young female hare, orphaned, had been lost in Mossflower until then, and was making her way to Salamandastron to join the Long Patrol. She had left a week prior to Rapieratce's visit. The hare's name was Daleria. Digesting the information slowly, Rapieratce shrugged. It was not rare for stray hares to join the Long Patrol. The captain knew that he would arrive much later that the aforementioned hare, so did not even bother thinking about catching up with her. He would find out more when he got to Salamandastron. 

* 

*_Back to the future_* 

'You were actually in Redwall when I had left?!' 

'I suppose. Which was why you never met me until much later. A pity.' 

'Such modesty on your part, 'Atce. I suppose. Glamoren?' 

'Glamoren was following me on the trip, actually, though the most he did was scoff his whiskers off.' 

'Hey, I resent that 'Atce!' 

'Serves you right, 'Moren.' 

* 

*Flashback* 

Rapieratce made his way to Galde's study, his report on Redwall all ready for presentation to the colonel. He had returned a day ago, late at night, and doubted that the colonel knew that he was back yet. He knocked quietly on the study door. A gruff enter met his ears in response. The colonel was obviously not in a good mood that day, the captain knew him well enough for that. Rapieratce knew it had to be bad news or something in that manner or another. Slipping silently into the study and shutting the door behind him as he went, Rapieratce set the report down of Glade's table. The colonel seemed too engrossed in reading a piece of parchment to care whether Rapieratce had set a report or a living toad onto his table. Rapieratce decided to inform Galde that he was alive. 

'Sah, it's the report on Redwall.' 

'Whatever, 'Atce. Leave it on my table. There's more important business for us to settle than that of a blinkin report of sorts.' 

'Sah?' 

Galde went on to explain the telling of the coming of Daleria up to current, the whole Vaxial fiasco, and the plan to head off to war and the situation in general. It was pretty serious, taking most of the force off the mountain, especially at such sudden and short notice. It was not regular for this kind of thing to happen. Galde was quick to assign orders to Rapieratce. It seemed that he wanted Rapieratce to co-command the main force with him, while Galde himself would probably hang around with Consellariel more. It was a pretty big responsibility, but somehow, Rapieratce did not feel overly intimidated. All his seasons with Galde had taught him to ignore intimidation. 

* 

Consellariel was off in Redwall. Galde and himself were then left with the main part of the hare army. Galde was in a high bad mood, not being used to being shunned off by the badger lady in times of trouble as such. Rapieratce knew better than to try and lighten his mood. He sat, sharpening his rapier on a stone that he had specially brought along from Salamandastron. Galde grew annoyed at the constant grinding of blade against stone. 

'Oh for Mossflower, 'Atce, you sharpen you blade any more than you have and you'll be left with a piece of metal that's as thin as a blinkin flippin leaf!' 

Rapieratce huffed at him. 

'Well, sah, it isn't my bally fault that Consellariel didn't want you to tag along, wot.' 

Galde sent him an evil glare. Rapieratce only grinned back at the colonel. 

* 

Rapieratce stared at the carnage about him. It was not unfamiliar to him, but it was certainly at a much harsher extent than he was used to by far. He fixed his train of sight on a limp form, impaled by a spear in his side. The captain paled to a deathly shade momentarily before dashed over to the site of the body, throwing himself down. 

'Colonel!' 

The colonel smiled weakly up at the grieving captain. The colonel knew that he did not have long to live, the spear had done its damage to the point where repair was not an option. Removing it would mean sure death. The pain seemed dull as the world began to get dimmer. The colonel grasped Rapieratce's paw. 

'Atce. It's over for me, and you know it, laddie buck. Twas nice knowing you.' 

'Col-colonel...' 

Rapieratce was desperately choking back the sobs in his voice. The colonel clucked his tongue slightly. 

'Now, don't you go emotional on me, wot. It comes down to you, y'know. You're young, but you can do it, 'Atce, I'm sure you can.' 

Rapieratce stared at Galde, his paws numb in disbelief. The captain shook his head vehemently and croaked hoarsely, 

'Sah, don't, I can't!' 

The colonel interrupted him before he could go any further. 

'My time is short, captain, so please, don't bore me with your talk. I have confidence you can do it. I wasn't spending the last couple of bally seasons on you for nothing, y'know. I have to leave you, and there's nothing you or I can do to stop that. You have a long time ahead of you, boy. Being a colonel isn't as cracked up as it seems to be. Keep what I have taught you in mind, and do what it takes to deliver justice out to those who deserve it. Follow Consellariel, for nobeast else will be able to guide you anymore. I will be there for you, waiting in the Dark Forest, but besides my memory and spirit, there will be no more of me, d'you hear? I've taught you the best I could, and it's all up to you now. Nobeast else can take my place, and young and as under experienced as you may be, 'Atce, you're by far the most competent of the lot. You have to be, there's no turning back now, 'Atce. What I give down to you now needs no promotion letter or official seal. You take on the responsibilities of a colonel, and from that, you can never turn away from. Now leave me. Don't let the others see you like this. Let an old hare give otherbeast what advice they need now. I have told you all that I can, and that is the last gift I give to you now. Leave, 'Atce, and let me tell what I may to others around me that grieve before I sleep.' 

And thus, Rapieratce left Galde, weeping, and turned away to face life as a colonel. 

*_Back to the future*_

Rapieratce leaned back in his chair, eyes closed for a moment as he revelled in his past memories. A few seconds later, he opened up his eyes again, never being one to drift away from the task at hand for overly long. 

'Well, that's all I've got to say. Now, Dale, if you'd be as courteous as not to push the responsibilities onto the rest of us, your turn has come.' 

Daleria sighed, putting up her paws in defeat in the face of Rapieratce's pressings and the look on his face. 

'Fine, fine, I suppose you have cornered me.' 

Settling back for a bit, Daleria let herself recall as much as she could out of her shady memory of times gone past. They were not exactly pleasant ones, but still, they were memories all the same. Rapieratce perked up considerably- he for one did not know much about Daleria's past. 

'I can't remember as much as I would like, and the past is something I will never understand, but I will try my best to recall what I can. There are no scenes that stand out in my memory save for fleeting figures clouded in shadow and running forms, besides that all I remember are sounds and some images forever imprinted in my mind. I remember the Western Plains, where my... old home was. 'Twas a green place, flowers out in the front and all. We lived in a relatively large house in the hillsides of the Plains, going more underground than above seeing as the hills were more like large mounds. I remember vividly the training room my father so loved, seeing as I staked out there nearly everyday. I developed my love of sharp blades from him, I suppose, and he began training me at a young age. I'm not sure as to whether he believed I could do it or simply to shut me up from all the complaining I did.' 

There Daleria frowned slightly. 

'I remember the house being the closest area to Mossflower. Vermin and vagabonds regularly passed by, making it absolutely necessary for us as a family to be trained in the arts of the blade. Father was very strict about that. Mother was usually furious with him, fact being that she was fed up with his collection of blades. Of which he put all over the house. Days back then passed in more or less in a blur for me, until that... night.' 

Daleria winced as she tried to recall the night when everything changed. 

'I was fortunate, I suppose. Father had been lecturing me for leaving my sabre on the dining table that night. I was made to polish all his blades and had to eventually stay up late. The vermin drugged them, but not me, but they found me anyway, though I managed to slay some before they got too close, but the Corrin Flower was far too strong. Fortunately... Vaxial was rushed. I wasn't completely drugged as compared to the rest of my family.' 

The captain sighed as she leaned further back into her seat. 

'I rather wish they did, to be truthful. It was... horrible. All I remember is struggling and sobbing and trying to break free after they dragged me away from my family, and hearing screams and shouts in the background. I remember something about my bonds coming loose, stabbing my guard and running. Running is all I remember doing for a good period of time, running straight into Mossflower to try and throw the vermin off my track. Nearly starving and not knowing where I was, I just, by chance, turned up at the Abbey... And here I am now.' 

There was a silence, broken only by the soft sniffling of some of the more emotional Abbey elders. Rapieratce placed a sympathetic paw on her shoulder. Daleria smiled despite herself. After a while, Jemerian smiled. 

'Well, things have turned out for the better, and I suppose that that is all that matters at this point in time. I say we all go and rest now, for the hour is later.' 

Indeed the hour was so later that the Dibbuns did not even protest, a rare prospect indeed. Daleria yawned, standing and stretching with everybeast else as they exited the hall. She had something, though, in mind that she knew that she was going to half to do sooner or later. If she was going to accept the past, she was going to first face the present. 

* 

Rapieratce cursed silently under his breath as he stalked through the many long halls of the Abbey. She was not to be found, not in the Dormitories, nor the Kitchens, Cavern Hole, the Great Hall, not even in the orchards. Where Daleria could have possibly disappeared to in such a short manner of time was incredible. Even Remora, Longrunn and Glamoren could not find the elusive captain anywhere. Abbess Jemerian was starting to worry. 

'Where could she have gone? The Abbey might be a safe haven, but Mossflower can still be a dangerous place outside our walls. 

Rapieratce snorted at the irony of the sentence, waving a paw and dismissing the prospect. 

'It is not so much Dale's well being that I am worried about. The captain can fend for herself almost as well as a one hare army gone mad. I was thinking more along the lines of _when_ she will turn up.' 

Glamoren looked shrewdly at his partner. Behind the calm exterior, the major knew that he was worried. Glamoren grinned to himself. 

_Ha. 'Atce's going soft._

Remora slumped into the chair beside her in Cavern Hall where they were gathered, tired after searching through the Abbey with a fine toothed comb almost since dawn that day. Pouring herself a cup of elderberry tea, she sighed. 

'Where could Dale have just popped off to? There are only that many places that she could possibly run to in Redwall.' 

Longrunn muttered darkly under his breath, knowing perfectly well that when it came to Daleria that there were more places than one where she could disappear to for an infinite period of time and never be found. Glamoren raised an eyebrow and supported his paw on the table, leaning down and speaking in a dry tone. 

'Great. We have one missing Captain Daleria, one huge Abbey and an even bigger wood of Mossflower. Perfect.'   



End file.
